NEW DELHI: Giving a fillip for small companies, capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), in a Board meeting on Friday, approved a slew of measures including lowering of fees charged from brokers, stock exchanges and companies seeking to get listed.
Providing a boost to new-age start-ups that want to get listed in stock markets and raise funds, SEBI approved a new set of norms to help investors get accredited for investments in such entities.
Norms connected to corporates facing debt restructuring was also eased, with exception from the mandatory open offer being provided in select cases.
The Board, in a move that would boost trade and deepen the markets, also said that it would allow mutual funds and portfolio managers to trade in commodity derivatives. SEBI has been opening up the commodity derivatives market to institutional investors to give large companies an opportunity to hedge and help integrate the spot and futures markets.
In order to boost flexibility in fund-raising and make investment vehicles attractive for investors, the regulator has approved amendments to Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) rules.
The leverage limit for InvITs was raised to 70 per cent from 49 per cent. Allotment by REITs and InvITs shall be made in multiples of a lot, the value of which would be `1 lakh ($1,411.27) for InvITs and `50,000 for REITs, SEBI said.
The meeting followed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s address to SEBI Board members and top officials, during which chairman Ajay Tyagi apprised him of recent developments in the Indian securities market.
The meeting was also attended by Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management Secretary Atanu Chakraborty and Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian, among others.