Dubai tycoon top individual shareholder of BSE

A Dubai-based Indian businessman has become the largest individual shareholder of BSE Ltd, the world’s top stock exchange by the number of listed companies.

Siddharth Balachandran, executive chairman and CEO of Buimerc Corporation Ltd, has boosted his stake to 2.58 per cent in BSE Ltd (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd), which boasts the world’s 10th highest market capitalisation at $2.58 trillion for its listed companies.

Balachandran has jumped two positions — surpassing Deutsche Boerse AG and the State Bank of India — to claim the overall rank as the second-largest shareholder of BSE Ltd after the Life Insurance Corporation of India.

BSE Ltd, incorporated in 1875 and the first listed stock exchange in India, is the second-largest bourse in India after the currently unlisted National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE). Balachandran is also a significant shareholder of NSE.

A well-known philanthropist, Balachandran is currently the chairman of India Club, Dubai. He is a patron governor of the Indian Social & Cultural Centre, Abu Dhabi.

Buimerc Corporation, headquartered at the Dubai International Financials Centre, focuses on investing in global markets including India, the USA, the EU and the UAE. It is the holding company of various subsidiaries operating across diversified lines of business and has established a presence across the UAE and India and has significant investment portfolios in the USA and the EU.

With listed companies exceeding 5,620, BSE Ltd is the world’s second-largest exchange in currency options traded volume; the third largest in currency futures traded volume, and the ninth-largest in electronic book trades.

— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com