BSE had been planning to list on the exchange for a while and had approached Sebi for permission to list without an initial public offer. Sebi also has to formalise norms for regulating self-listed companies. Some BSE members were keen on the listing of the exchange so that they could sell their shares.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India is now planning to enable investors to buy and sell mutual fund units through stock exchanges. Fund houses will also be allowed to sell new fund offers (NFOs) through exchanges, helping them to save on distribution costs.
Pricing worries remain, but bankers expect IPOs to raise over Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) in the next few months.
Business Standard discussed the primary market scenario and changing equations in the IPO market with Enam Group chairman Vallabh Bhanshali. Excerpts:
Certain provisions of the code would delay the negotiation process, increase the tax liabilities and introduce uncertainties due to the General Anti-Avoidance rules.
This is in addition to the $3 billion (around Rs 15,000 crore) infrastructure fund being set up in association with the Macquarie group and International Finance Corporation. Though SBI would be a late entrant to the private equity space, Bhatt was confident that it would not be a deterrent.
One indication of this was the fact that many large bond buyers stayed away from the Rs 12,000 crore auction conducted on August 7.
The Companies Act Amendment Bill, which was tabled in Parliament in the Budget session that adjourned last week, has proposed to allow Indian companies to merge with overseas companies, a move that could introduce greater flexibility in cross-border merger and acquisitions.
Though the number of Japanese foreign institutional investors in India is still negligible, it's significant that 8 of the 11 registered with Sebi entered in the past year and a half
The market regulator is mulling safeguards relating to power of attorney.
Sebi officials say the regulator has turned down the proposal on ground that the Indian market is still not prepared for such flexibility in pricing.
Although the Budget has projected only Rs 1,120 crore (Rs 11.2 billion) receipts from disinvestment, sources said some big-ticket initial public offers, or IPOs, could hit the markets soon. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will meet the Securities & Exchange Board of India board on Friday to discuss, among other things, the disinvestment roadmap and the Budget proposal to raise the threshold for non-promoter public shareholding for all listed companies in a phased manner.
The Mahindra Holidays initial public offer --the third public float in the current year and the single largest issue over the last 12 months--was subscribed 11 times and four companies raised an estimated Rs 4,000 crore yesterday through QIPs. This came after realtor Unitech's announcement on Friday that it has raised over Rs 2,700 crore via a QIP at Rs 81 a share.
Set to get powers like those enjoyed by a civil court; will be able to attach assets, file winding-up applications.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India has recommended reservation for domestic mutual funds within the quota allocated for "anchor investors" in initial public offers.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India has decided to make it mandatory for qualified institutional investors to make full payments upfront when they apply for shares in initial public offers. At present, QIPs pay only 10 per cent of the amount required for the shares for which they apply upfront.
CitiFinancial, Citibank India's non-banking finance arm, has reduced its asset book by one-third and its branch network by a quarter of the year-ago level as part of a restructuring exercise, Citi CEO for South Asia Mark T Robinson told Business Standard.
Sources close to the development said the finance ministry was yet to receive a formal proposal to this effect from the bank, though SBI chairman OP Bhatt had recently said the lender had sought government permission to raise Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 bn).
OECD has identified at least four tax jurisdictions -- Jamaica, Qatar, Botswana and Ghana - whose tax information system would be studied to find out if they are emerging as the new tax havens following the crackdown on the existing ones. A unique tax identification number would be akin to a global permanent account number for Indian taxpayers which could remain the same across jurisdictions.
As part of wage settlement, new recruits will be asked to shift to the New Pension Scheme.