Sebi clears Limaye’s appointment as NSE CEO
NO DISPUTE Will be permitted to join only after being relieved from BCCI duties
The drama on the leadership at India’s leading stock exchange, National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) came to an end on Friday.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) gave a final approval on the appointment of Vikram Limaye as chief executive officer and managing director (MD) of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), however he would join only after he is released from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) panel, said NSE in a statement.
Limaye, currently managing director and chief executive officer of IDFC Ltd, also serves on the Supreme Court- appointed administrators’ panel of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The appointment had been held up due to the market regulator’s concerns about Limaye’s dual role at BCCI.
“The conditions in the approval is to ensure that his responsibilities at NSE are not compromised due to his additional role at the BCCI panel,” said a regulatory official.
This development comes after the NSE board assured the marexisting ket regulator that Limaye will not continue in his BCCI role beyond August and will recuse himself in case of an extension.
On January 31, Limaye was appointed by the apex court to the four-member Committee of Administrators (CoA) to manage the affairs of the BCCI. He was appointed for a period of six months. His tenure ends in August.
Mint had reported on May 12 that Sebi was was uncomfortable that his dual responsibilities and that would hamper his duties and role at NSE.
NSE expects Limaye to join the exchange by August. It expects to start roadshows for its initial public offering (IPO) within a quarter of Limaye’s taking charge, probably in September, said a Mint report on May 12.
NSE has already filed a draft prospectus and its IPO would see shareholders selling 25% shares to the public.
In any case, NSE is not in a hurry to list before resolving charges that some brokers had secured unfair access to its trading systems.
In an interview on December 16 last year, Ashok Chawla, Chairman of NSE said that it would list only after the allegations around its colocation facility are resolved.
“Corrective actions based on the forensic audit in consultation with Sebi,” said Chawla in the interview.
India’s market regulator on 22 May had issued show cause notices to 14 directors of NSE and to the exchange stating they failed in their fiduciary responsibility to maintain market sanctity by allowing unfair access to some brokers in its co-location platform. On June 8,
reported that NSE plans to settle the issue via the so-called ‘consent mechanism’.
The mechanism allows entities to settle the charges against a penalty without admission or denial of guilt.
On April 27, Mint had reported that NSE’s public offering would be delayed till the bourse resolves these allegations and has a full-time CEO in place.