BSE-CII convention on capital markets indefinitely postponed

Our Markets Bureau

Mumbai, Dec 10: Has the country’s major and one of the oldest stock exchanges, The Stock Exchange, Mumbai (BSE) fallen out of favour with the Ministry of Finance?

Well, may be not. But, if the non-availability of finance minister Yashwant Sinha to grace the high-profile national convention on capital market being jointly organised by BSE and Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) is any indication, it seems to have lost favour, even though temporarily.

The BSE-CII sponsored joint convention was scheduled to be held in Mumbai on December 18 and 19. Among other subjects, the participants were to discuss vital issues like financing of equities, developing new markets and products, best practices in managing risk and the future of stock exchanges.

However, the BSE-CII’s much-hyped national convention on capital markets has now been postponed indefinitely. Around 50-60 participants have already paid the registration fee of Rs 5,000.

According to a BSE spokesperson: “The convention had to be postponed due to the non-availability of few international speakers on capital markes, who have postponed their trip to India due to the ongoing conflict in Afganistan.”

According to a CII source: “The joint convention was postponed following the request by the BSE. It is something beyond our control and we are not happy about it.”

When pressed for explanation over the postponement, the CII source said: “One of the main reasons was the non-availability of the finance minister whose office said he was unable to make it to the convention because of his other engagements.”