"The exchange is also planning to reposition itself from being a niche segment market to be a broad-based one by allowing parallel listing of stocks with regional stock exchanges (RSEs), besides dispensing with compulsory market-making for initial public offers (IPOs),'' OTCEI managing director Praveen Mahnot told The Financial Express here on Wednesday.The exchange's board is scheduled to meet on October 23 to finalise these strategies. It has already approached the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for doing away with compulsory market-making for IPOs, he said.

The Centre has already granted approval to OTCEI for kicking off retail trading of privately placed debentures. The exchange is, thus, poised to create a screen-based, vibrant and transparent all-India retail debt market in areas still not covered by other major exchanges, he said adding that the exchange has already updated the technology for the purpose.

Meanwhile, OTCEI Securities Ltd (OSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary formed to seek membership of the National Stock Exchange, "has revised its transaction charges for trading on NSE, following the excellent response it received from members/dealers, to make the trading cost-effective on NSE via OTCEI," Mr Mahnot added. Mr Mohnot also added that "a major reason for the slowdown in activities is the reduction of new IPO listings of small-size companies." The basic reason for the fall in IPO listings is the compulsory market-making norm, which calls for creation and matching of two-way bids. Dispensation with compulsory market-making would help smaller companies in the information technology sector to offer their IPOs on the exchange online.