According to BSE officials while no decision has been reached, the reasonfor such a move was being considered in view of the large turnover whichsome of the recent IT entrants are witnessing on the exchange.

Market capitalisation of the traded scrips, liquidity (in terms of floatingstock), and the equity base would form the basic criteria for listing theshares in the higher categories, sources said.

The current practise of entry through the B2 category is seen as restrictivein certain cases where the trading interest and market cap is large. Forinstance, Hughes Software, which is listed on the B2 category is the topperin terms of turnover in the group. The scrip clocked a turnover of Rs 21.70crore with over one lakh shares changing hands.

The difference between listing in B2 and B1 categories is the limits ontrading volumes imposed on scrips in the former category, so that in thecase of I-T scrips which are attracting a a lot of trading interest now, thechances of them hitting the upper limit are frequent.

"This restricts trading in them" a BSE broker explained, adding that therestrictions imposed on them is not commensurate with the investor interestin them.

However stock exchange officials are learnt to be treading a cautious pathon this front as they do not want the stocks to be overtraded with theirprices shooting through the roofs, which have no justification in theirfundamentals.

Apart from the market cap other factors which are likely to influence thelisting changes are the track record of the promoters in their areas ofactivity, the basic fundamentals of the company and consistency ofperformance.