At that time, it was not clear that the economy was on the mend, but the over-subscription of Supercomal's shares by three times was hailed as another indicator that the capital market was on the road to recovery and the economy was headed for better times. Once a company has been approved for listing, it's up to that company to choose the date of listing. Hence, while we as an exchange can provide the facilities, the decision to list and choice of date to begin trading rest with the company. Thus, the exchange cannot reasonably set a target for the number of companies to be listed.
Capital formation is very much a reflection of the economy's health.
My response then, as it is now, was that timing and the issue of valuation should be decided by the companies seeking to list. The fact is that an exchange serves the purpose of capital formation and the provision of price discovery and liquidity for issuers and investors. We may well ponder how these functions are to be performed in the new economy and indeed, the manner in which intermediation will take place. But the core functions remain. The exchange is a very valid business model in this age of e-commerce.