MUMBAI: Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said it has extended the deadline for linking Unified Payments Interface (UPI) – Application Supported by Block Amount (ASBA) linked application process for IPOs (initial public offerings) till March 2020.
Investors, especially HUF and minors who apply through physical application forms had faced difficulties in the last two IPOs, though SEBI said studies showed greater acceptance of the UPI based applications.
The second phase was to be implemented from July 2019 but it has now been pushed to March 2020. “National Payments Corporation of India has assessed the situation with respect to infrastructure at banks and their logistics and suggested further tweaking of systems, procedures and timelines for various activities for smoother operations of ASBA with UPI as a payment mechanism,” it said.
Meanwhile, SEBI chairman Ajay Tyagi said the planned disinvestment of public sector undertakings by the government can kick start the IPO market, which has dried up. “This will be a confidence-building measure that is needed in the market,” Tyagi said, attending CIIFinancial Markets Summit on Friday. He said IPOs totalling about Rs 25,000 crore are held up, the ones with valid approvals may lapse in a year.
He pointed out to the number of PSUs that have not complied with the listing norms. He said if the PSUs meet their mandated public holding norms it will allow retail investors participation and create a reasonable float. On the bond market, he said the credit enhancement fund announced in the budget needs to be operationalised.
Move aimed at reducing listing time for an IPO
Sebi has earlier announced that it would launch UPI as an alternative payment option for retail investors to buy shares in a public issue in a phased manner from January 1, 2019