NSE IPO clears final regulatory hurdles, as Sebi chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey says no obstacle remains

India’s largest stock exchange, the National Stock Exchange (NSE), has inched closer to its long-pending initial public offering after SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey confirmed that there are “no obstacles” remaining for the bourse to proceed with its plans. The statement marks a critical regulatory green light in a process that has been stalled for nearly a decade.

Speaking at the FE CFO Awards on Friday, Pandey said there is no obstacle that will remain in case of NSE IPO, according to ETNow. While he declined to offer a timeline when asked if the IPO could materialise before Diwali, his remarks signal the clearest indication yet that the exchange may soon head to the public markets.

SEBI has put on hold proposals to separate clearing corporations from stock exchanges, removing a key regulatory hurdle that had previously complicated NSE’s path to listing. Pandey indicated that the regulator is comfortable with the current ownership structure and does not view it as a barrier to the IPO. He noted that models for clearing corporation ownership vary globally, while brokers typically own them in the U.S., they operate as separate entities in India.

In addition to receiving regulatory clearance, NSE is currently working through a few pending legal matters. This includes settling certain processes that may involve financial payments and the withdrawal of specific cases. While Pandey acknowledged these ongoing steps, he did not disclose further details on the nature of the settlements or the amounts involved.

The exchange has already paid Rs 640 crore to SEBI in October 2024 to settle a regulatory case, and a Bloomberg report previously said NSE had offered Rs 1,000 crore in a broader settlement proposal to resolve legacy issues.

SEBI is expected to form a working group to improve fee transparency and ensure clearer governance independence, moves that are likely to reduce compliance friction as NSE prepares for its IPO. Rather than pursuing sweeping structural reforms, the regulator may now focus on unbundling trading and clearing fees.NSE’s IPO has been in the works since 2016, when the bourse filed draft papers to raise Rs 10,000 crore through an offer for sale of a 22% stake by existing shareholders. Regulatory delays and legal overhangs have kept the process in limbo ever since.While a definitive timeline is still absent, Pandey’s assertion that all major hurdles have now been cleared suggests that NSE’s long-awaited public debut may finally be on the horizon.

Also read | No obstacle will remain in NSE IPO: Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey

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