SEBI has just placed a discussion paper on its website entitled “Proposed modifications to the existing framework for buy back through open market purchase” for public comments. Comments on the discussion paper have been solicited on or before January 31, 2013. Upon a review of the current regulations and studying the market dynamics, the key recommendations of the discussion paper are set out...
SEBI penalises front-running again, does not follow SAT’s order
There is yet another Order of SEBI on front running and SEBI holds that transactions in the nature of front running are violative of the PFUTP Regulations. This is close after SAT’s recent ruling (“the Patel Order”) holding that front running cannot be punished, as discussed by me here, and another later ruling by SAT (“the Karkera Order”) as discussed by Mr. V. Umakanth here. By an Order dated...
Another SAT Order on Front Running
Last month, Mr. Jayant Thakur had discussed an order of the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) in the case of Dipak Patel where SAT interpreted the SEBI (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Relating to Securities Markets) Regulations, 2003 (the “PFUTP Regulations”) to mean that front running is not a crime unless it is committed by an “intermediary”. Mr. Thakur’s post points to...
Short Sellers, Short-Termism and Corporate Governance
I have been following a corporate battle that erupted last month in Singapore. Muddy Waters, a financial research firm based in the US, released a 133-page report on Olam International, a Singapore-based company, alleging several accounting flaws in the company’s financial statements that did not represent the true state of its financial health. Upon this announcement, the price of Olam’s shares...
Settlement of Charges Between Indian Brokerages and the US SEC
Earlier this week, four Indian brokerage houses entered into settlements with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for charges of carrying on brokerages services to institutional investors in the United States (US) without registration under the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act). The SEC’s press release and the orders pertaining to the four brokerages are available...
Should Government Companies Be Exempt From the Takeover Regulations?
Today’s Business Standard carries a report indicating that SEBI is in the process of considering a general exemption to the Government from making a mandatory open offer under SEBI’s Takeover Regulations 2011. This comes in the wake of two specific exemptions granted by SEBI this year in the case of IDBI Bank and IFCI whereby the Government was given special dispensation from making an open offer...
Australian Court on Rating Complex Financial Instruments
The Federal Court of Australia has delivered an important ruling that pertains to the liability of credit rating agencies. In Bathurst Regional Council v. Local Government Financial Services Pty Ltd, the court found that Standard & Poors (S&P) was liable to several local councils in Australia for a AAA rating provided in connection with their investment in complex financial instruments...
Petition on Composition of the Securities Appellate Tribunal
(The following guest post is contributed by Amit Agrawal, Advocate, regarding a petition filed before the Delhi High Court. Amit is representing the petitioner, although the litigation and its outcome will likely have a broader impact) A public interest litigation (PIL) has recently been filed before the Delhi High Court inter alia questioning the functioning of the Securities Appellate Tribunal...
Regulatory Reforms in the Capital Markets
SEBI has taken steps in the last few weeks to bring about reforms in the capital markets, particularly in the primary market segment. The first set of reforms essentially gives effect to decisions taken at SEBI’s board meeting on August 16, 2012. These include matters relating to both the equity markets, where the SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2009 have been...
AIF Regulations: Meaning of Ownership Interests and Investor Interests in a Company – Part III
[The following post is the last of the series contributed by Vinod Kothari and Soma Bagaria. The authors can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected] respectively. The first two posts in the series can be found here and here.] In India, a company form of a fund is not very prevalent because of several constraining and restricting reasons. Some of those can be summarized as...
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