MUMBAI: The Ministry of Finance on Thursday announced amendments to the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957, to facilitate the listing of securities in International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs). According to the official notification, the amendments will be known as the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2024, and will take effect immediately upon their publication in the Official Gazette.
One of the key changes includes the introduction of new definitions relevant to IFSCs in Rule 2 of the existing regulations. The terms “International Financial Services Centre” and “International Financial Services Centres Authority” have been defined, aligning the rules with the provisions of the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019.
In addition, companies that want to list their securities on stock exchanges in International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) will now have a lower requirement. Instead of needing to have “twenty-five percent” of their shares available to the public, they now only need “ten percent,” no matter how much capital they have after issuing shares.
Additionally, in Rule 19A, the amendments clarify that similar modifications regarding minimum public shareholding will also apply to companies already listed on recognized stock exchanges in IFSCs.