Beleaguered Delhi Stock Exchange has informed the Securities and Exchange Board of India that it was in favour of merging with other regional bourses even as it recorded zero business for most part of the fiscal.

In a note to Sebi, DSE also said it along with other interested parties, could appoint a firm for the valuation of assets of these stock exchanges, if the proposal went through.

When contacted, Sebi chairman G N Bajpai confirmed that the market regulator had received the suggestions from the bourse.

"I cannot force any stock exchange. It is up to them to decide," Bajpai told PTI.

As an alternative to the Euronext model of merger of bourses, the note to Sebi said, "Other regional stock exchanges can avail of the option of merger/consolidation with DSE" pointing out that it had the necessary infrastructure for undertaking such an exercise.

This comes at a time when Mayya Committee has suggested the 'Indonext' model for Consolidated Stock Exchange of India.

The participating exchanges and DSE would appoint a firm for valuation of assets of all such bourses to consider the minimum deposit norms for trading membership and available surplus for conversion into equity and/or deposit on the lines of Kania committee report, the note said.

This is for the second time that DSE is making the proposal for valuation as already a committee had gone into valuation at the time of its proposal to merge with BSE.

But for many reasons, the idea was dropped and the valuation report did not see the light of day.

In the light of negligible business in regional stock exchanges, especially zero business in DSE, most of them have closed down and investors in these bourses had no opportunity to trade on scrips not listed in National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange.

Considering the need to address the problems of investors on small and medium cap companies not listed on BSE and NSE, the Sebi committee had favoured consolidation of regional stock exchanges on the lines of Euronext model.

But presenting the "ample" infrastructure, DSE said it had technology assets worth Rs 30 crore (Rs 300million), liquid net worth over Rs 30 crore and over 700 trading terminals, of which 323 terminals were connected through VSATs, in 95 cities across the country, apart from around 3,850 listed companies, which is next to BSE.