History of Bombay Stock Exchange

The Bombay Stock Exchange is known as the oldest exchange in Asia. It traces its history to the 1850s when An informal group of 22 stockbrokers had been trading under a banyan tree opposite the Town Hall of Bombay from mid-1850s. This banyan tree still stands in Horniman Circle Park, Mumbai. The location of these meetings changed many times, as the number of brokers constantly increased. The group eventually moved to Dalal Street in 1874. In 1875 this informal group of stockbrokers organized themselves as “The Native Share and Stockbrokers Association” which, in 1875, was formally organized as the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

In 1956, the BSE became the first stock exchange to be recognized by the Indian Government under the Securities Contracts Regulation Act.

BSE is the oldest stock exchange in Asia, the second being the Tokyo Stock Exchange, established in 1878.

Premchand Roychand was a leading stockbroker of that time, and he assisted in setting out traditions, conventions, and procedures for the trading of stocks at Bombay Stock Exchange and they are still being followed.

Dalal Street
James M. Maclean inaugurated the Brokers’ Hall in January 1899. After the First World War, BSE was shifted to an old building, near the Bombay Town Hall and in 1928, the plot on which the BSE building now stands, on Dalal Street, was acquired, and a building was constructed in 1930.

The Bombay Stock Exchange followed the familiar outcry system for stock trading, which was replaced, in the year 1995, with screen-based eTrading. BSE is presently housed in a 28-storied Jeejeebhoy Towers, where the older structure once stood: the present building derives its name from Sir Phiroze Jamshedjee Jeejeebhoy, the chairman of the Bombay Stocke Exchange from 1966, until his death in 1980.
BSE Sensex

Following is the timeline on the rise and rise of the Sensex through Indian stock market history.

1830's Business on corporate stocks and shares in Bank and Cotton presses started in Bombay.

1860-1865 Cotton price bubble as a result of the American Civil War

1870 - 90's Sharp increase in share prices of jute industries followed by a boom in tea stocks and coal

1900s

1978-79 Base year of Sensex, defined to be 100.

1986 Sensex first compiled[5]using a market Capitalization-Weighted methodology for 30 component stocks representing well-established companies across key sectors.

Craig Jute Mills and a little story

Craig Jute Mills and a little story


Sometime back, a client of mine from Kathmandu, Nepal was browsing through his attic and amongst other things that were discovered, they found quite a few file folders containing ancient share certificates, company letters and intimations regarding shareholders meetings, announcement and payments of dividends, bonuses, annual reports etc. These investments had been done by the clients' grandfather while he was doing business in Calcutta, India in the late1930s and 1940s.

For the benefit of my readers, I have put up an image of the old share certificate.

The family was quite clueless about what should be done with these certificates. The documents contained valuable information, but stored away for many years, which the family thought was junk.

A chance conversation got us talking and he wondered if we could help?

Our team got in action and we helped the family in recovering the amounts they were entitled to. Investigations, starting on a trail, lodging succession claims at courts were done for establishing the legal claim title. The procedure took over a year but the results were `worth' it.

Moral of the story: Do not throw any old bank statement or passbook or share certificate that might belong to your parents or grandparents. It may not be useless ? there might be some value, unknown to you and it is never too late to start working on tracing assets!

In case you need more information, please contact us through email - write to fund.tracers@gmail.com

Discovered: A Raj Pistol in an Unclaimed Locker..

A great story from the Times of India

MUMBAI: The British may have left us six decades ago but fascinating traces of empire continue to pop up in unexpected places. On Tuesday, when an unclaimed locker at the State Bank of India’s head office at Fort was finally opened, the authorities found a gun and a small pile of ammo: an automatic Mauser pistol and five magazines with 261 cartridges.

The locker, registered in the name of Lt A B Greenwood, also had a copy of The Times of India dated September 14, 1923.

Brijesh Singh, deputy commissioner of police (zone-I), said on Wednesday that the bank came across the little haul when it was checking on its unclaimed lockers. On January 27 this year, two carbines and 12 grenades, believed to have been stashed away by Khalistani terrorists, were found in a locker at the SBI’s Bandra branch. The SBI was earlier known as the Imperial Bank. The police believe that the Mauser pistol and the cartridges were placed in safe-keeping before Independence. Seven big cartridges, inscribed with ‘K-10 VIII’, a rod to clean the barrel, a wooden box, some documents and a holster were also in the locker. The Times of India copy has a prominent advertisement from Richardson & Cruddas, the 1858 engineering firm whose nameplate still dominates the factory shed at Byculla. It was nationalised in 1972.

After the general manager of the bank, Tarachand Walve, informed the MRA Marg police about the find, a team of policemen arrived on Tuesday morning to take possession of the goods.

From the documents available DCP Brijesh Singh provided additional details: ‘‘There was a letter from the deputy post master general to Greenwood acknowledging receipt of the two packets found in the locker. There was also a piece of paper which stated that the automatic pistol had been custom made for a Rajah (whose name is not mentioned) and that it cost Rs 300.

“The cartridges cost Rs 200, according to another receipt. The receipt also mentioned that the pistol was a present given to Greenwood,” Singh added.

Unfortunately, there are no personal papers to give us a lead to learning more about Greenwood’s identity or his address. But given that the weapon has lain peacefully in the locker for 83 years, the police have ruled out a possible conspiracy. The ISI has not been blamed.

http://www.razarumi.com/2006/10/13/discovered-a-raj-pistol-in-an-unclaimed-locker/

In case you need more information, please contact us through email - write to fund.tracers@gmail.com

Unclaimed Money: Banks may end up with Rs 1000 Cr booty

24 Dec, 2007, 1430 hrs IST, Gayatri Nayak, TNN

MUMBAI: Over Rs 1,000 cr is lying unclaimed with banks in India in 1.03 cr inactive accounts. Banks term money lying in accounts that have been inactive for over 10 years as ............

for more click on
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Unclaimed_Money_Banks_may_end_up_with_Rs_1000_cr_booty/articleshow/2646368.cms

Dividend: Claim It Before It Is Too Late

Every investor expects to earn regular and decent returns on his investment. One of the most popular instruments of investment is shares in a public listed company. It could be preference shares or equity shares, ............

for more click on
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/dividend-claim-it-before-it-is-too-late/55457/

http://www.blonnet.com/businessline/iw/2001/07/22/stories/0422d102.htm

http://www.suchetadalal.com/?id=b3f53554-228b-b11f-492e830bc258&base=sub_sections_content&f&t=Unclaimed+dividends+(18+March+2002)

In case you need more information, please contact us through email - write to fund.tracers@gmail.com