Tag: SEBI
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Relaxation in Short Selling Norms
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] SEBI has introduced changes to the securities lending and borrowing (SLB) framework which may help uplift the market for short sales. The contract tenure for SLB has now been increased to 12 months. The Economic Times notes the rationale: SLB was introduced in April 2008, starting with a contract tenure of…
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Compensating Investors: IPO Irregularities
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] SEBI has recently published a report by the Justice D.P. Wadhwa Committee in connection with irregularities in various IPOs in 2005. The report itself was, however, submitted by the Committee to SEBI as early as December 2007. In those IPOs, certain applications were made by certain persons using fictitious demat and…
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SEBI Order on Participatory Notes
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] Just when it appeared that the din surrounding offshore derivative instruments (ODIs) and participatory notes (PNs) had subsided, the significance of regulating these instruments has resurfaced in an order passed by SEBI yesterday in the case of Barclays Bank PLC, a foreign institutional investor (FII) registered with SEBI. By this order,…
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The SEBI-NSDL Controversy
[Posted by Shantanu Naravane] The recent decision of the SEBI to set aside as ultra vires two orders passed by a Special Committee set up by it has led to a huge furore in commercial and legal circles. The origin of the controversy was the appointment of CB Bhave as the Chairperson of the SEBI…
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A Round-up on Recent SEBI Reforms
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] Earlier this week, SEBI announced a slew of capital market reforms. This comes in the wake of recovery in the markets as well as the Government’s intention to undertake disinvestments in public sector undertakings (PSU). The principal reforms and their impact are discussed below. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)SEBI has established…
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Powers of SEBI and SEC Compared
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] In his column in the Business Standard this week, our guest contributor Somasekhar Sundaresan argues that, if one were to go by the rule book, SEBI has greater powers than the SEC. He lists out several significant powers of SEBI that can be exercised without intervention of the court. Here are…
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SAT on indirect acquisitions – correct in letter and spirit
[Posted by Somasekhar Sundaresan] Earlier this month, the Securities Appellate Tribunal (“SAT”) opined on the computation of the minimum offer price for an indirect takeover of a listed company. An interesting critique of this opinion was published on this blog the next day. The SAT had disposed of two appeals (Appeals No. 137 and 139…
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Indirect Acquisitions and Determination of Open Offer Price
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] (The following post has been contributed by Avinash Balasubramaniam, who is an alumnus of the ILS Law College and a practising lawyer based in Chennai) The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) yesterday delivered its verdict in the Zenotech open offer case directing Daichi to offer Rs.160/share to the shareholders of Zenotech. So…
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Inputs and Suggestions to TRAC
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] The Takeover Regulations Advisory Committee (discussed earlier) has invited inputs and suggestions regarding suitable amendments to the SEBI Takeover Regulations. This is part of the committee’s consultative process. Suggestions are due in the prescribed format by October 31, 2009. The background for the proposed amendments is as follows: There have ……
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SEBI’s Proposed Changes on Disclosures and Audit Norms
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] After the Satyam fraud earlier this year, there was expectation of significant regulatory changes that strengthen corporate governance, disclosure and audit norms in India companies. Some changes did occur almost immediately; for instance, detailed measures were introduced favouring disclosure of pledges by promoters. However, the Companies Bill, 2009 introduced in Parliament…