'BSE SME Exchange provides great opportunities'

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The BSE SME Platform provides a great opportunity for the entrepreneurs to raise equity capital for the growth and expansion of SMEs, said Lakshman Gugulothu, CEO, BSE SME Exchange.

He was speaking at a function organised by the UP unit of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to create awareness among SMEs on 'Raising Equity Capital through BSE SME Platform, market intermediaries and investors about the BSE SME Exchange/Platform.'

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Giving the overview of the SME Exchange Gugulothu said, “BSE SME Platform also provides the immense opportunity to the investors to identify and invest in the good companies at early stage. It will help unleash the valuation of the company and in the process create wealth for all the stakeholders including investors, besides considerable capital gain tax benefits and facility to exit at any point of time.”

Explaining the role of intermediaries in the SME exchange, Anubhav Tripathi, manager- KARVY Investment Services said, “A huge opportunity lies for merchant bankers and market makers through the SME Exchange. The time is right and the regulatory environment is favorable for such an exchange. Not only there is an opportunity for significant wealth creation but it will also give good opportunities for exits to investors.”

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Concluding the session Umesh Agarwal, convener of CII UP Agriculture Panel, and MD of SAAMCO Consultants, said, “SMEs have been the backbone of the industrial growth in UP. We are home to 1.2 million SMEs and thus the launch of an SME Exchange would be the most beneficial to us. In the past two decades, large companies have become larger by capitalizing on the market opportunities and now it is the turn of the SMEs to grow at a similar pace.”

The session well attended by over 50 SMEs and channel partners including various institutes and associations engaged in the development of SMEs so as to create awareness among the SME companies about the benefits of listing at this platform.

The Small and Medium Enterprises sector contributes 8 per cent to the India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs 6 crore people through 2.6 crore enterprises.