New Delhi, March 12 (IANS): India's markets watchdog, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), on Saturday took the first regulatory step toward the listing of BSE, the 140-year-old bourse that was earlier called the Bombay Stock Exchange.

"We have given in-principal approval for listing of BSE," said SEBI chairman U.K. Sinha after the watchdog's board meeting.

In January, BSE had sought approval from SEBI for launching its initial public offering (IPO).

Already a limited liability company, BSE was the first stock exchange in Asia established in 1875 and the first in the country to be granted permanent recognition under the Securities Contract Regulation Act, 1956, its website said. 

In December 2014 the market capitalisation of companies listed on the bourse crossed Rs.100 trillion ($1.5 trillion as current exchange rate). A year later, it became the fastest exchange in the world with a median response speed of as low as 6 microseconds.

It has 5,455 companies listed for equity, 319 for debt and 23 asset management companies for mutual funds.