Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) recently made significant decisions in its 210th board meeting, including introducing a special delisting route for PSUs with 90% or more government holding. The meeting also saw approvals for dematerialisation of securities before IPOs, simplified disclosures for institutional placements, and relaxation of FPI rules for G-Sec investments.

Key Takeaways:

• PSU delisting: A fixed-price route has been established for voluntary delisting of eligible PSUs with over 90% government/PSU holding, with safeguards for residual shareholders.
• IPO reforms: Sebi updated its rules to make it easier for companies to go public and for investors to sell their shares, aiming to improve the Ease of Doing Business.
• Dematerialisation before IPO: Sebi mandated dematerialisation of select shareholder classes before filing DRHP to promote transparency and reduce frauds in IPOs.
• Simplified disclosures for placements: Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) documents have been streamlined to eliminate duplicative disclosures and enable concise summaries.
• Relaxation of FPI rules: FPI compliance norms have been relaxed for investors focusing on Government Securities (G-Secs) to facilitate ease of doing business.
• Co-investment opportunities for AIFs: Category I & II AIFs are now allowed to offer co-investment opportunities within the AIF structure.
• Settlement Window for Brokers: A one-time settlement scheme has been introduced for brokers involved in the NSEL platform case.
• Eased norms for REITs and InvITs: Regulatory compliances have been relaxed for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs).
• Flexibility for merchant bankers: Merchant bankers can now perform certain non-SEBI regulated financial services without creating a separate entity, subject to compliance.
• Reforms for Social Stock Exchange: Amendments have been made to the regulatory framework to facilitate Social Enterprises accessing the Social Stock Exchange mechanism.

These decisions aim to enhance transparency, ease of doing business, and investor participation in the Indian capital market.