| Date: |
23-03-2015 |
| Subject: |
Sebi okays muni bonds, norms for fininance centre in Gujarat |
NEW DELHI: The Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Sunday cleared new norms for an international financial centre in Gujarat, made it possible for municipal bodies to issue and list debt instruments and made it easier for fund managers to deal with domestic as well as offshore pooled funds as it attempted to bolster the Indian markets.
At the post-budget board meeting, attended by finance minister Arun Jaitley, the regulator decided to allow foreign companies to list and trade shares and other instruments at the financial centre, which will be set up under the SEZ Act. While the move will enable Indian investors to participate in overseas companies, the move on municipal bonds will enable urban bodies to raise funds and investors to make informed choices.
Sebi also decided to tighten the disclosure norms for companies, including specific time limits for updates to stock exchanges. Sebi chairman U K Sinha said listed companies would need to disclose their board decisions within 30 minutes, while all other 'material information' would need to be made public within 24 hours, failing which they would face strict penal action.
Further, the regulator said it will put in place a mechanism to meet the needs of young entrepreneurs and startups, while strengthening the enforcement process as part of the reforms programme for the next financial year. Donning a more modern outlook by adopting latest technologies, Sebi said it will tap social media in a big way to reach out to investors and make things easier for them through measures like e-IPO and Aadhaar-based e-KYC initiatives. Sebi also pitched for allowing pension money into capital markets and creating an enabling environment for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to flourish.
The regulations on international financial centre, with the first one to come up in Gujarat, are aimed at making India a sort of hub on the lines of established centres such as Dubai and Singapore and also help check the flight of trading in rupee and Indian securities to other centres. "Stock exchanges and clearing corporations would be provided concessions for setting up ventures in the IFSC (international financial services centre). All existing exchanges would be allowed to set up their subsidiaries in the IFSC under the relaxed regimes," Sinha said.
Sebi also said the action plan for the proposed merger of Forward Markets Commission (FMC) with itself is in the works. FMC is the regulator for commodities market. Noting that efforts are on to ensure that the "transaction will be smooth", Sebi chairman Sinha said the merger plan "is now going to be law and we are preparing ourselves".
Announced in the Union Budget 2015-16, the merger would help in streamlining the regulations and curb wild speculations in the commodities market. "The good thing is that the draft bill provides that different sections can be notified in different dates. So, it does not put any undue stress on us that on such and such date we must do everything," Sinha said.
Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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