NSE Awaits SEBI Nod For Offer To Settle Two Cases

National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. is awaiting a response from the country’s market regulator on its offer to settle long pending cases that could clear the path for its much delayed initial public offering.

The operator of the country’s biggest stock exchange filed two applications with the Securities and Exchange Board of India on June 20, to settle the cases related to its co-location services and unauthorized installation of fiber optic lines, it said in notes to June quarter earnings statement. NSE did not give details of its offer.

The Mumbai-headquartered bourse, also the largest derivatives exchange globally by number of contracts traded, has offered a record amount of nearly 14 billion rupees ($161 million) to settle legal matters, Bloomberg News reported in June. The move can potentially remove a key hurdle toward the bourse’s public listing, for which it had first filed papers in 2016.

NSE’s listing plans have been halted by the market regulator due to ongoing cases dating back to 2015 in which some high-frequency trading firms were alleged to have gained unfair access to its co-location servers. The investigation derailed the exchange’s IPO ambitions even though its unlisted shares continue to attract investor interest.