[Aditya Bhayal and Prachi Tripathi are 4th Year, B.A.LLB (Hons.) students at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad] In February 2020, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) approved proposals on some regulatory changes to the SEBI (Investment Advisers) Regulations, 2013 (the “Regulations”). These changes come in the backdrop of four consultation papers which were released in 2016...
Demystifying the Interface between Securities Law and the IBC
[Hitoishi Sarkar and Yash More are II year students at Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar] On June 16, 2020, a high-level committee constituted by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) under the chairmanship of Justice Anil R. Dave released its report titled Measures for Strengthening the Enforcement Mechanism of the Board and Incidental Issues (“SEBI...
Orders in the WhatsApp Leak Case: Technological Constraints and UPSI
[Pranav Mihir Kandada is a rising 3rd year student at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad] Ever since the first case of insider trading through online messaging about two decades ago, insider trading in the digital era has gained new contours over the years. In India, the advent of instant messaging services with end-to-end encryption has turned them into a new venue for communication of...
Opportunistic Delisting in the Times of Covid-19: Need for Checks and Balances
[Tanvi Prabhu is a IV year student and Mansi Mishra a III year student, both at National Law Institute University, Bhopal] With Covid-19 adversely affecting the markets, stocks are trading at multi-year lows. Companies, investors and shareholders are enduring the brunt of a bearish market. But, unsurprisingly, a few companies are embracing this opportunity to exit the stock market completely...
SEBI Working Group Report on Social Stock Exchange
[Rongeet Poddar is a 5th year student at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences] The Working Group Report on Social Stock Exchange constituted by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has evaluated the prospect of introducing a ‘Social Stock Exchange’ (SSE). As acknowledged in the Report published on 1 June 2020, the Finance Minister of India had previously called...
The Delisting Dilemma
When the financial markets are on a decline, company managements tend to utilize it as an opportunity to delist shares from stock exchanges. Not only is there a perception that the depressed market price is far from reflecting the true value of the company, but it also provides the promoters the ability to acquire the shares of the public shareholders at a relatively lesser cost. It is no wonder...
SAT on the Nature of Offering of Fully Convertible Debentures
[Aastha Agarwalla is a 2nd year law LLB student at the Campus Law Centre. Faculty of Law, University of Delhi] In order to streamline the process for access to capital for a company, the Companies Act, 2013 prescribes various funding options by issuing various kinds of securities. Depending upon the specific circumstances and requirements, a company pursues a viable financing option ranging from...
SEBI Circular on COVID-19 Disclosures
That the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a company’s business, operations and finances is “material” is undisputed. A question, however, arises whether listed companies ought to make clear and full disclosures of such impact and, if so, under what regime. One option would be to rely on existing securities regulation that requires listed companies to make episodic as well as periodic...
Revisiting Side-Pocketing in Mutual Funds: Question of Investor Protection
[Prankul Boobana is a fourth year student at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad] With one of the bigger mutual fund houses winding up six of its debt schemes recently, the mutual fund (MF) industry, which was already facing liquidity issues, suffered a huge setback. In the past few months, the MF industry has witnessed various debt-laden companies defaulting and, resultantly, making delayed...
SEBI’s Consultation Paper on Pricing of Preferential Issues and Open Offer Exemption
[Rongeet Poddar is a 5th Year student at West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences] The Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) on 22 April 2020 issued a consultation paper for easing pricing norms for preferential issues in companies having stressed assets. It aims to provide objective criteria for classifying a company as ‘stressed’. The document issued by the securities...
Recent Comments