Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in its investigation against Indiabulls Housing Finance has found the mortgage financier non-compliant with regards to unavailability of certain information on its website as well as its internal policy. Thereby, it has directed the company to take corrective measures and inform the stock exchanges in a months' time. Several public interest litigations (PILs) and FIRs were filed against Indiabulls Housing Finance back in 2019, alleging irregularities, siphoning of funds, and other violations committed by the promoters of the company.
Leading stock exchange NSE's board has given its approval to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to prosecute its former MD and CEO Chitra Ramkrishna in the co-location scam case, sources said on Monday. The CBI was awaiting the go-ahead of the board of National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) to prosecute Ramkrishna following her arrest in March last year. She was arrested in the co-location scam nearly four years after an FIR was registered by the agency in May 2018.
Last October's circular meant that downstream investment by such funds by way of subscription or acquisition of shares would have been considered "indirect foreign investment" if their investment manager or sponsor is owned or controlled by a non-resident. The finance ministry has now said that mutual funds that invest more than 50 per cent in equity shall be omitted from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996.
The development comes after Sebi received representations from listed entities, chartered accountant firms, and industry bodies, seeking further extension of time for filing of financial results for the quarter/half year/financial year ended March 31, 2020.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) proposal to re-introduce "hard underwriting" is seen as step to boost India's moribund initial public offering (IPO) markets. The regulator has proposed that in case an IPO fails to garner full subscription, the investment banker or a third-party can buy the unsubscribed shares. This practice was common during fixed-price issues prior to 1999. However, under the new book building regime, underwriting is allowed only to the extent of shortfall due to technical rejection of bids - this is referred to as "soft underwriting" and is rarely invoked.
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has named Ravneet Kaur, a Punjab cadre IAS officer of 1988 batch, as chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Kaur will hold the post for five years or until attaining the age of 65. She is the second woman to serve in an 'economic regulator' role after Madhabi Puri Buch, who was appointed chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India last year and the first woman to head the country's chief national competition regulator.
India's oldest exchange, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), has approached the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for listing its shares. Sources said the listing would be through an initial public offering. This will make BSE India's first listed exchange.
The Air Chief Marshal also said that India's rise in the Global South marks a "pivotal point" in international affairs.
Ramkrishna is in the news after a recent Sebi order said she was steered by a yogi, dwelling in the Himalayan ranges, in the appointment of Anand Subramanian as the exchange's group operating officer and advisor to the managing director (MD).
'The success of one or two IPOs does not dictate whether the upcoming IPOs will be successful or not, but it certainly indicates that the markets and investors are enthusiastic about startup IPOs.'
The National Stock Exchange (NSE), which is once again in the eye of a storm due to the co-location scandal, has said it has taken several transformational steps in the past few years on the regulatory, technological, and surveillance fronts to help improve stakeholder experience and to protect investors. Senior officials of the exchange briefed the media over the steps the exchange has taken on various fronts following changes at the helm with former managing director and chief executive officer Chitra Ramkrishna's ouster in December 2016. "Over the last few years, we have been looking to modernise and transform the entire value chain of technology.
The medium-term scenario for oil marketing companies (OMCs) is high risk due to the surging crude and gas prices. Apart from OPEC-plus cutting production, the Hamas-Israel conflict has caused fears of supply disruption. The July-September quarter of 2023-24 (Q2FY24) saw positive surprises for OMCs. Strong gross refining margins (GRMs) more than offset weak marketing margins.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India is considering the formulation of norms for registration of hedge funds in the country to provide them an investment window and improve quality of their regulation.
Sahoo panel suggests India must ease global borrwoging norms for corporate houses.
Portfolio management services (PMS), catering to higher networth individuals (HNIs), are facing tough competition from emerging alternative investment funds (AIFs), evident from their dwindling client base. In May, the number of clients for the industry stood at 125,390, down 20,528 in two months, shows data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). "PMS managers also have a high active ratio, which means their portfolios are quite differently positioned and more actively managed, compared to the benchmark, which is also a highlight for long-term investors.
Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan has asked why SEBI has not yet got to the bottom of ownership of the four Mauritius-based funds who are said to have parked 90 per cent of their $6.9 billion in Adani group stocks, saying does the market regulator need help of investigating agencies for this? The funds -- Elara India Opportunities Fund, Cresta Fund, Albula Investment Fund and APMS Investment Fund -- have been under cloud for last couple of years after allegations that they may be shell companies. They came into focus once again in January when a US short seller alleged that Adani Group used offshore shell companies to inflate stock price.
Stock exchanges NSE and BSE have freezed shares of promoters of Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali group firm Patanjali Foods, but the company said the decision will not have any impact on its functioning. Patanjali Foods Ltd, erstwhile Ruchi Soya Industries, on Thursday said the freezing of its promoters' shareholding in the company "will not have any impact" on its financial position and functioning of the company. On Thursday, Patanjali Foods Ltd (PFL) informed that leading bourses BSE and NSE had frozen shares of its 21 promoter entities, including Patanjali Ayurved for failing to meet minimum public shareholding norms.
BSE says all requirements complied with.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India said on Thursday that India could soon become the "benchmark" for the capital markets elsewhere in the world because of the several far-reaching reforms, especially on risk management.
After opening close to 1,500 branches in 2022-23, HDFC Bank, the country's largest private sector lender, will continue expanding its branch network at the same speed in the current financial year. The lender says branch expansion is crucial for deposit mobilisation. As of March 31, 2023, HDFC Bank had 7,821 branches, up from 6,342 a year ago.
'Somebody was using somebody to make statements that will stir the stock market and lead to a surge.' 'A sudden surge and a sudden crash is always an ideal situation for people to make illicit gains and then siphoning off the money.'
The Supreme Court on Friday said it has no reason to "discredit" SEBI, which probed allegations against the Adani group, as there was no material before it to doubt what the market regulator has done and the court does not have to treat what was set out in the Hindenburg report as a "true state of affairs".
Opposition parties on Thursday agreed to jointly raise the issue of allegations of fraud against the Adani Group in Parliament but were yet to agree on the mode of inquiry into the Gujarat-based corporate major.
Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has tweaked the benchmarking norms for mutual fund (MF) schemes in a bid to bring more uniformity. The regulator has introduced a two-tiered structure for benchmarking of schemes and all the benchmarks followed should be total return index (TRI). According to the circular, the first-tier benchmark shall be reflective of the category of the scheme, and the second-tier benchmark should be demonstrative of the fund manager's investment style or strategy within the category.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is in the process of issuing a standard operating procedure (SOP) for designated depository participants (DDPs) regarding disclosures and onboarding of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), according to a regulatory document seen by Business Standard. DDPs act as a link between the markets regulator and overseas investors. The SOP, framed in consultation with the industry, aims to bring consistency across all players and avoid any form of regulatory arbitrage.
Mutual funds (MFs) invested a record Rs 1.73 trillion in equities in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), providing strong support to the Indian markets at a time when foreign investors were redeeming their holdings. They exceeded the previous high of nearly Rs 1.72 trillion investment in equities in FY22. The data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) shows MFs were net buyers in the equity market in eleven of the twelve months last financial year.
Because they have become too big and pervasive and the time to regulate is long gone, points out Debashis Basu.
MCX Stock Exchange (MCX-SX) continued its tirade against the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), alleging "discrimination" and "character assassination" while rejecting its application for launching a full-fledged stock exchange.
PSBs were required to bring down government shareholding to at least 75 per cent, to comply with the amended Securities Contract (Regulations) Rules by August 2017.
Layoffs, corporate restructuring, governance and most importantly profitability: The 14 Indian startups that plan IPOs this year are pulling out all the stops to ensure successful market debuts.
Mutual fund (MF) houses have started realigning their overseas product offerings after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) advised them to stop subscriptions. PPFAS Asset Management has decided to suspend transactions in Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund with effect from February 2, 2022. Though new lump-sum and systematic investment plans (SIPs) will not be accepted, existing SIPs and systematic transfer plans (STPs) will continue.
Fintech firm MobiKwik on Monday filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the markets regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), for its initial public offering (IPO). According to its DRHP, the company plans to raise Rs 1,900 crore, which includes a fresh issue of Rs 1,500 crore and an offer for sale of Rs 400 crore. The selling shareholders include American Express Travel, Bajaj Finance, Cisco Systems and Sequoia Capital India, besides founder Bipin Preet Singh. MobiKwik is the latest among tech majors wanting to list on stock exchanges. Food delivery start-up Zomato will launch its IPO on Wednesday.
"We will raise Rs 300 crore via bonds of two-, three- and five-year tenures. This will be our maiden bond issuance and is part of our effort to widen funding sources," says Vimal Bhandari, executive vice-chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), Arka Fincap. The firm, a subsidiary of Kirloskar Oil, is only five years old and small (assets of around Rs 5,000 crore with an "AA" rating), but the response to this float will be closely watched: It would be the first by a non-banking finance company (NBFC) after Mint Road upped the risk weights on bank exposures to them by 25 percentage points. The move by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has caught NBFCs off guard even though the issue had been flagged by Governor Shaktikanta Das with their corner-room occupants (and that of banks) in July and August 2023 - on consumer credit and the dependency on bank borrowings.
...why are the government is running away from a Joint Parliamentary Committee
'ESG is actually a concept which cannot be applied effectively in the very short run.'
Gender diversity at the top can improve financial returns.
The income-tax (I-T) department is working on integrating the new e-filing portal with stock exchanges to help tax authorities track trade transactions, including futures and options. The integrated system will look at discrepancies between the data disclosed by an assessee and match it with data fetched from stock exchanges, using artificial intelligence, said two officials in the know. This will help detect and red-flag such matters, particularly those related to non-filers of income-tax return (ITR).
The Securities and Exchange Board of India proposes to levy fee on stock exchanges.
Indians spent more on foreign investments during the past 12 months than they have since at least 2012.
