Beyond Iconic- Bombay Stock Exchange (Chetna Agarwal)

                     

Bombay Stock Exchange has entered into third century ever since its formation 133 years back. It is the oldest stock exchange market of South Asia and the first one on the country to be recognized by the Government of India under the Securities Contract Regulation Act 1956 and the second in the world to get an ISO 9001:2000 certification. It has been awarded several recognitions over the years due to its performance such as The Golden Peacock Global CSR Award, ICAI awards for excellence in financial reporting, and Asia-Pacific HRM Award to name just a few.

Most conveniently referred as the BSE, it is an icon of the Indian Capital Market. Every company and corporate entity gets itself listed on the BSE to raise capital resources from the market. In the present scenario, Bombay Stock Exchange is world number 1 in terms of the number of listed companies and world fifth in transaction numbers. BSE extends an easy and transparent market trading system in equity, debt instruments and derivatives. The system and processes are in par with the international standards. An investor can choose from 4700 listed companies categorized into A, B, S, T, and Z group. BSE Index, Sensex has an index of 30 stocks representing 12 major cities.

BSE has laid the groundwork for the development of the Indian securities market. It is surely BSE's and thus Mumbai’s pride that almost every leading corporate in India has sourced BSE's services in capital raising and is listed with BSE. Apart from the Bombay Stock Exchange, the city also houses the National Stock Exchange of India. They are together responsible for most of the share trading volumes in India. Abhishek Kiran Gupta, Head – Research, Jones Lang Lasalle Meghraj in his article, “Mumbai – An Icon in Indian Real Estate” makes a statement on Mumbai’s iconic status. He says, “Today, the city is home to major financial institutions and the corporate headquarters of several Indian companies and multinational companies. It is for this reason that Mumbai maintains its iconic status as the country’s most vibrant real estate market.”

Alongside its dealings in the financial sector, the Bombay Stock Exchange also engages itself into community service. BSE has been undertaking Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives with a focus on education, health and environment. BSE has been awarded by the World Council of Corporate Governance the Golden Peacock Global CSR Award for its initiatives in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

The BSE is a 28 storey building in downtown Mumbai, at the intersection of Dalal Street, Bombay Samachar Marg and Hammam Street. Outside the building is a large screen which displays the stocks of all the listed companies to indicate the increase or decrease of the particular stocks for trading purposes. The trading days are Monday to Friday from 9:00am to 3:30pm. On trading days, brokers, traders and investors crowd in numbers outside the building for performing various transactions. This manner of trading is unique to Bombay Stock Exchange and happens nowhere else in the world. The site is full of anxious looking men and women. One can clearly look through their anxiety when there is bull or bear in the Market. The ups and downs in the Sensex bring a gamut of emotions together. The securities/insecurities come inescapably with this game of trade.  For many people it is an obsession. Making money is the primary obsession but more importantly it’s the obsession with ‘gambling’. It’s a gamble with both time and money. Essentially, the stock exchange, decides the fate of an individual, because either you rise or you fall deep.

The BSE, in this sense of the world is truly iconic and will continue to remain an icon in the Indian capital market.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.      Gupta, Abhishek Kiran “Mumbai – An Icon in Indian Real Estate”. Retrieved on 02, August, 2010 from http://www.accommodationtimes.com/real-estate-news/mumbai-an-icon-in-indian-real-estate/