BSE To Launch New Platform To Facilitate Listing Of Tech Startups

With a view to facilitating the listing of tech startups in the sectors of IT, ITES, biotech, 3D printing, spacetech, and ecommerce, BSE India is set to launch a BSE Startup platform on July 9.

The platform will also aid in the listing of startups from other sectors such as hi-tech defence, drones, nanotechnologies, artificial intelligence, big data, virtual reality, e-gaming, robotics, genetic engineering, and more, reported PTI yesterday, citing BSE officials.

Claiming to be Asia’s first and the world’s fastest exchange, the BSE will roll out certain criteria that startups and SMEs in the above-mentioned sectors will have to fulfil for the listing. Some of the conditions are:

• The company must have a pre-issue paid up equity share capital of a minimum of $146K (INR 1 Cr)
• The company should be in existence for a minimum period of three years on the date of filing the draft prospectus with the BSE
• The company should preferably have investments by qualified institutional buyers (QIB investors)/angel investors for a minimum period of two years at the time of filing of the draft prospectus with the BSE
• The company seeking to list on the platform should not have been referred to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code

Earlier this month, in order to boost the Indian startup ecosystem, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had set up a panel to explore ways to make listing attractive for startups. The SEBI panel will review the present Emerge Institutional Trading Platform (ITP) framework in the current context as well as identify areas, if any, which require further changes.

Inc42 had earlier reported that the National Stock Exchange (NSE) is in talks with SEBI to ease startup listing norms on its platform Emerge ITP.

Back in 2013, India’s largest stock exchange, the NSE, had launched Emerge ITP, a dedicated platform that allows startups to list with or without an initial public offering (IPO). The platform connects growing businesses to a pool of sophisticated investors while offering a wide variety of exciting investment opportunities to investors.

However, owing to not-so-startup-friendly norms, only 11 startups have been listed on the platform since its launch.  While SEBI has already taken some measures relating to angel investments and other frameworks, the upcoming launch of the startup platform by BSE will undoubtedly attract Indian startups to get listed on either of the two available platforms.