At least 50 companies will be listed on the SME Exchange slated to be launched in September from across India on the SME Exchange at the time of the launch, out of which 10 will be from Gujarat.

"We should be able to have about 40-50 companies to start with. All these companies are currently at various stages of filing for the listing. At least 10 companies are from Gujarat and they are actively considering to list on the SME Exchange," said Lakshman Gugulothu, chief executive officer, BSE SME Exchange. Real estate, pharma, trading, manufacturing and services companies are likely to make it to the exchange.

The scrips listed on the SME Exchange platform will be put under the M-group and MT-group in the BSE's BOLT system. The trading of scrips will be done in the cash market as lots, unlike BSE scrips which are traded as individual shares. All existing trading members of BSE will be eligible to participate in the SME Exchange and need not register separately. But they are facing two challenges currently, i.e to educate and convince SME owners to get listed on the SME exchange and secondly, the investors also need to be convinced to invest in the SMEs.

The SME Exchange is expected to benefit SMEs to raise funds and leverage on their share value for the future growth of companies. The listing norms have also been relaxed for SMEs, with a reduction in duration and costs for initial public issue (IPO) procedures. The duration for IPO procedure will reduce to about 1-2 months against the normal 8-10 months. This will save cost as well as time for the listing.

Companies having a post-issue paid-up capital of up to Rs 10 crore will be covered under the SME platform, while companies with a post-issue paid-up capital between Rs 10 crore and Rs 25 crore will be listed on the SME platform. Those exceeding the paid-up capital limit of Rs 25 crore would necessarily have to list on the main board of the exchange.