CALCUTTA/MUMBAI, NOV 2: The Interconnected Stock Exchange (ISE) of India has decided to float a wholly-owned subsidiary which would become a member of the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange, according to M R Mayya, Chairman of the ISE.Mayya said in Calcutta the modalities of floating the subsidiary were currently being worked out, and both NSE and BSE had agreed in principle to admit the new outfit as member of the respective exchanges.Promoted by 15 stock exchanges in the country, ISE had been primarily formed to provide a national market for members of participating bourses at a low cost.Announcing the launch of `IACCESS', Mayya said traders and dealers could get access to a market created by 15 stock exchanges and two premier stock exchanges, NSE and BSE. Currently, 50 dealers were registered with ISE, and plans were afoot to admit additional 200 dealers across the country.The ISE chairman said the stock exchange would be able to provide low-cost service to users through appointmentof dealers. The ISE could also be utilised for marketing initial public offerings (IPOs), and three companies were already being listed on the exchange. He said companies intending to go for ISE listing would get the retail reach.The whole-time director of ISE, V Shankar, said the exchange had applied for approval to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for introducing modified carry-forward trading. Once the approval was received, ISE would commence MCFs within a month, he added. He also said that ISE would also provide facilities for internet trading.The bourse also has plans to provide for commodity exchange, derivatives trading, and to open up a segment for retail trading in debt instruments. The average daily turnover of the exchange was hovering around Rs 500 crore, Mayya informed. About risk management at ISE, Mayya said that the exchange had established a surveillance system to monitor the positions of traders and dealers on a real time basis. Any trader or dealer would beprevented from taking larger than acceptable risk at any point of time, he added. Any individual or corporate could become a dealer on ISE.The ISE announced it would soon expand its operations into the city and provide for trading on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) by January 2000.After the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) lifted curbs on exchanges, to allow setting up trading terminals within the geographical jurisdiction of other exchanges, ISE has selected 50 dealers from Mumbai city and they would commence operation after registration with the SEBI. The dealers would be appointed on the ISE after paying an introductory price of Rs five lakh as admission fee and the first batch includes several members of the NSE and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), ISE Managing Director Joseph Massey said in a statement.The ISE is currently on a membership drive in Calcutta and expects to enroll at least 200 dealers by November-end.Dealers would have access to a national level market of 15participating exchanges of the ISE as well as access to NSE and BSE trading segment through a subsidiary of ISE in due course of time.
