With stock markets witnessing a `real action' mainly led by ICE stocks, more reforms are required to exploit the emerging opportunities. Says Anand Rathi, the president of the Mumbai Stock Exchange, ``There are more reforms required to exploit the opportunity created by the stock exchanges.''The market capitalisation of India is still lower than that of Singapore, Korea or even that of Taiwan. Speaking on the occasion of Birla Institute of Management Technology's inauguration of the thirteenth academic session, he emphasises the need to automate stock exchanges, making them more transparent to investors and reducing the time required in trading.
This is required especially in the scenario when investors are global and the stock exchanges are facing international competition, he adds.
The global trends that are emerging in the capital markets are 24 hours trading, the global alliances, mergers and consolidations, cross boarder listing and trading and plummeting brokerage costs. Currently, according to estimates, 17-18 per cent of the trading is through internet and it's growing faster.
Rathi suggests that there are specific needs to boost capital markets in India which can be attained by creating a task force for capital markets, introducing long-term funds for capital markets, use power of capital markets to facilitate dis-investment, banks participation in capital markets, setting up retail debt market and permit individual foreign investment in Indian equities. BSE is taking initiative in providing latest technologies like online-trading and VSAT connectivity of 5,000 centres.
It is also providing demat trading with 1200 scrips, rolling settlement, derivatives with index futures and corporate governance of listed companies.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.