Focus on Building Strong Businesses, Not Daily Stock Prices, Says NSE Chief Ashish Kumar Chauhan
Mumbai: Entrepreneurs should prioritise building profitable and sustainable businesses instead of worrying about daily fluctuations in stock prices, National Stock Exchange (NSE) Managing Director and CEO Ashish Kumar Chauhan said on Friday.
Focus on Building Strong Businesses, Not Daily Stock Prices, Says NSE Chief Ashish Kumar Chauhan.
Addressing the Foundation Day programme of the JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation (JIIF) at the NSE in Mumbai, Chauhan described India’s capital markets as a powerful engine for entrepreneurial growth and urged startups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to view public listing as a long-term growth strategy.
“Your business is in your operations, not in the share price. The stock market is only a reflection of your business; it is not the business itself,” Chauhan said.
He emphasised that entrepreneurs should concentrate on improving operational performance, strengthening profitability and creating sustainable businesses, rather than being distracted by short-term movements in their company’s stock.
Highlighting the advantages of going public, Chauhan said a stock market listing enables companies to raise growth capital while allowing founders to retain management control. He explained that promoters can initially offer around 25 per cent of equity to public investors while continuing to hold a majority stake, with additional dilution only when future expansion requires fresh capital.
According to him, listing also strengthens corporate governance, enhances business credibility, attracts analyst coverage and improves access to institutional finance and bank lending. It additionally supports smoother succession planning by making ownership transfers more transparent and structured.
Chauhan further noted that profitable businesses often receive significantly higher valuations in the public markets than they might command as privately held enterprises. As an illustration, he said a company earning an annual profit of around ₹2 crore could potentially achieve a market capitalisation of ₹40–50 crore after listing, enabling promoters to raise capital for expansion and attract strategic investors.
Why It Matters
India’s startup ecosystem is increasingly looking beyond venture capital for growth funding. As more startups and MSMEs consider public listings, Chauhan’s remarks reinforce the importance of building businesses with strong fundamentals, sound governance and sustainable profitability, rather than focusing on short-term market valuations.
Forever News Insight: Chauhan’s remarks come as an increasing number of Indian startups and MSMEs explore public markets as an alternative to private funding. His emphasis on profitability and governance reflects a broader shift in investor expectations toward sustainable business models. www.forevernews.in
