No Talks With Government On IPO Intervention In Last 30 Months, NSE Clarifies

India's leading stock exchange, the National Stock Exchange on Wednesday clarified that it has had no communication with the Government of India, regarding its much-anticipated initial public offering in the last two-and-a-half years.

"NSE would like to clarify that there has been no correspondence with the Government of India over the last 30 months with respect to the IPO," NSE said in an X post.

The exchange made the clarification in response to a Reuters story.

As reported previously, the NSE, which is working to launch its much-anticipated initial public offering, responded to a letter by the Securities and Exchange Board of India regarding a no-objection certificate in March this year.

The exchange claimed that it will divest its clearing corporation operations, once regulatory clarity comes in, seeking the certificate at the earliest. The NSE had first sought the certificate in August 2024.

Prior to this, SEBI had flagged a number of potential shortcomings with the bourse's IPO in a detailed letter, according to senior officials. The letter was sent at the end of February, coinciding with the conclusion of Madhabi Puri Buch's tenure as SEBI chairperson.

In its letter, the markets regulator had given the NSE a period of 24 months to comply with its advice, which included concerns for the exchange's internal processes, governance and more.

The exchange had filed its IPO prospectus back in 2016.

SEBI, in a letter dated Nov. 21, 2016, approved the listing of equity shares on a recognised stock exchange, contingent upon compliance with applicable regulations and SEBI circulars. The offer received approval from NSE's Board of Directors and shareholders, through resolutions passed on Oct. 4, 2016, and Nov. 10, 2016, respectively.

During that period, NSE, its directors, and its group companies were not barred from accessing or operating in capital markets by SEBI or any other authorities.

However, in a 2019 order, SEBI barred NSE from accessing the securities market for six months due to complaints related to its co-location facilities. Although the Securities Appellate Tribunal modified financial penalties in January 2023, it upheld the market access restriction.

Subsequently, NSE's 2022-2023 annual report emphasised that the six-month prohibition period had ended and that it awaited SEBI's further approval for listing. News articles in December 2023 suggested SEBI had imposed additional conditions for NSE's IPO approval, including maintaining a glitch-free year, enhancing technological infrastructure, improving corporate governance, and resolving pending legal matters.

However, the NSE colocation case was settled in October 2024 for a whopping Rs 643 crore.