Latest news with #GS-FPIs
Hans India
8 hours ago
- Business
- Hans India
FPI inflows remain resilient, SEBI move to further boost foreign investments: Analysts
Mumbai: The trend of foreign portfolio investment (FPI) experienced a reversal in April and demonstrated considerable strengthening in May, characterised by positive inflows, which continues as June progresses, analysts said on Saturday. On June 20, the FPI inflows in equity stood at Rs 7,940.70 crore, as per the NSE's latest data. According to market experts, the inflows recorded in May represented the highest level observed in eight months, signifying a resurgence of interest from foreign investors in the Indian markets. 'Nonetheless, geopolitical tensions, including the conflict between Israel and Iran, alongside global uncertainties, fostered a cautiously optimistic pattern in June,' said Vipul Bhowar, Senior Director-Listed Investments, Waterfield Advisors. Enhancing domestic fundamentals and a favourable long-term growth outlook indicate that, should global conditions stabilise, India may experience more sustained and stable foreign portfolio investment inflows in the future, he added. India's economy continues to stand out as one of the world's fastest growing and most resilient, backed by strong macroeconomic fundamentals and a vibrant policy landscape. The nation's regulatory institutions, led by SEBI, have consistently pursued reforms aimed at deepening market participation, enhancing transparency, and simplifying compliance to attract global capital. In a landmark move to deepen the debt market and provide much needed liquidity; SEBI has announced regulatory relaxations exclusively for FPIs investing in Government Securities (G-Secs) in the recent board meeting. 'This forward-looking measure arrives on the heels of India's inclusion in global bond indices like the JP Morgan Global EM Bond Index and Bloomberg EM Local Currency Government Index, which is expected to attract large-scale FPI inflows,' said Manoj Purohit, Partner and Leader, Financial Services Tax, Tax and Regulatory Services, BDO India. SEBI's move reduces compliance burdens by harmonising KYC review timelines with RBI norms, exempting GS-FPIs from submitting investor group details, and permitting NRIs, OCIs, and Resident Indians to participate in GS-FPIs with fewer restrictions. Additionally, FPIs now enjoy a more relaxed timeline -- 30 days for disclosing material changes, up from 7 days earlier. These changes reflect SEBI's risk-based regulatory approach and are poised to deepen FPI engagement in India's sovereign debt market. As India's economic fundamentals remain robust, these progressive measures will strengthen the country's appeal as a stable and attractive investment destination for global institutional investors, said analysts.
India Gazette
3 days ago
- Business
- India Gazette
SEBI approves relaxation of compliance for FPIs investing only in G-Sec, takes several key decisions
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 18 (ANI): The market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Wednesday approved a set of relaxations for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) investing in Indian Government Bonds (IGBs), also known as G-Secs. The decision is part of a series of proposals cleared by the SEBI Board during its meeting that took place in Mumbai. The market regulator has harmonised the periodicity of Know Your Customer (KYC) reviews for GS-FPIs with those mandated by the Reserve Bank of India. SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey made the announcements of SEBI Board decisions on Wednesday. In another critical relaxation, GS-FPIs will be exempt from submitting investor group details, a requirement primarily intended for monitoring equity and corporate bond exposures. Since GS-FPIs are limited to sovereign debt, SEBI has deemed this requirement unnecessary in their Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs), and resident Indians will now be allowed to be constituents of GS-FPIs. In a procedural relief, the deadline to intimate SEBI about material changes in GS-FPI setup has been extended from 7 days to 30 days. This provides more flexibility to investors while still ensuring regulatory oversight. SEBI clarified that both existing and new FPIs seeking to be classified as GS-FPIs will be subject to conditions that the regulator may specify from time to time. The capital market regulator approved several other proposals in its board meeting, offering significant relief to startup founders, alternative investment funds (AIFs), and listed entities planning qualified institutional placements (QIPs). The SEBI board cleared a proposal allowing startup founders to retain or exercise Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs) granted at least one year before the Initial Public Offering (IPO) filing, even after being classified as promoters. Under current norms, promoters cannot hold or be granted share-based benefits such as ESOPs at the time of filing the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), forcing them to liquidate these holdings before the IPO. The new proposal addresses the long-standing grievance of startup founders adversely impacted by this restriction, offering a significant policy relaxation that supports founder retention and motivation during the IPO journey. In a move to ease capital-raising by listed firms, SEBI approved amendments to the SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018, simplifying and streamlining placement documents for QIPs. The changes build on earlier efforts to simplify disclosures for rights issues and are designed to reduce duplication of information already available in the public domain. The amendments allow listed entities to make summarized and concise disclosures in QIP documents, enabling quicker and more efficient capital also cleared a long-awaited proposal to allow AIFs to offer co-investment opportunities through a dedicated Co-Investment Vehicle (CIV) under a separate scheme within the AIF structure. This addresses an industry demand that seeks to expand the investment horizon for institutional investors without diluting protections for main scheme participants. In addition, AIF managers will now be permitted to provide advisory services to any investor, regardless of whether their fund has invested in the relevant listed securities. Reversing its earlier decision from December 2024, SEBI has decided not to mandate the hiving off of non-regulated activities carried out by SEBI-registered entities into separate legal entities. The revision comes after internal reviews and industry said angel investors must now qualify as Accredited Investors (AIs). Accreditation involves independent verification of investor status with thresholds updated to reflect current market realities. 'Board approved that Angel Investors will now need to be Accredited Investors (AI). Note that in AI, there is independent verification of investor status, with thresholds that update to the current market levels,' SEBI board added 'In addition, the Board approved a proposal to amend ICDR so that AIs will be included as Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) for the limited purpose of investments into Angel Funds only. This would allow Angel Funds to show opportunities to a wider pool of eligible investors, while staying in conformity with Companies Act,' SEBI added. SEBI also amended ICDR regulations to classify AIs as Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) for the limited purpose of investing in Angel Funds. This change is expected to broaden the eligible investor base for Angel Funds while maintaining regulatory integrity under the Companies Act. (ANI)
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
SEBI introduces special measures to facilitate voluntary delisting of certain PSUs
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) board on Wednesday announced several measures, including steps to facilitate voluntary delisting of certain public sector undertakings (PSUs), relaxation in regulatory compliances for foreign investors investing in government bonds and allowing founders of start ups to hold employee stock options (ESOPs) even after listing of the company The board also approved category I and II Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) to offer co-investment opportunities within the AIF structure. The SEBI board introduced special measures for PSUs to undertake voluntary delisting through fixed price delisting process when the shareholding of the government as a promoter or other PSUs equals or exceeds 90 per cent. 'PSUs (other than banks, NBFCs and insurance companies) in which aggregate shareholding of the government and/or any PSUs equals or exceeds 90 per cent of total issued shares of the PSU, would be eligible for delisting under the relaxed route ,' the SEBI said. Delisting of such eligible PSU would be only through a fixed price delisting process which shall be atleast 15 per cent premium over the floor price. In order to enhance ease of doing business through a risk-based approach and optimum regulation, the board approved the proposal to relax certain regulatory requirements for all existing and prospective foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) that exclusively invest in government securities G-Secs (GS-FPIs). SEBI has harmonised the periodicity of mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) review for GS-FPIs with the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) requirement. This would essentially mean that GS-FPIs will have less frequent mandatory KYC reviews. Under the revised norms, existing and prospective FPIs that exclusively invest in g-secs under the Fully Accessible Route (FAR) will not be required to furnish investor group details. Such details are largely relevant for monitoring FPI exposures into equity and corporate debt only. The SEBI said that GS-FPIs will be permitted to intimate all material changes within 30 days instead of 7 days. These relaxation come at a time when several global index providers have announced inclusion of g-secs in their respective bond indices, such as J P Morgan Global EM Bond Index, Bloomberg EM Local Currency Government Index and FTSE Russell Emerging Markets Government Bond Index. SEBI said that under the existing regulations, promoters are ineligible to hold or be granted share based benefits, including ESOPs. If they hold such share based benefits at the time of filing of draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), they have been required to liquidate such benefits prior to the initial public offering (IPO). 'This provision has been found to be impacting founders classified as promoters at the time of filing of DRHP. The proposal approved by the Board shall facilitate founders who received such benefits at least one year prior to the filing of DRHP with the Board, to continue holding, or exercising such benefits even after being specified as the promoter and the company becoming a listed entity,' the regulator said. These proposals as approved by the board are expected to assist public companies who are intending to list after undertaking reverse flipping (i.e. shifting the country of incorporation from a foreign jurisdiction to India) and relax certain requirements relating to share based benefits granted to founders prior to the company undertaking the IPO. With an objective to enhance ease of doing business for AIFs, the SEBI board approved the proposal to permit Category I & II AIFs to offer co-investment scheme (CIV scheme). This will further facilitate AIFs and investors to co-invest and will support capital formation in unlisted companies through AIFs. Co-investment refers to investment made by a manager or sponsor of the AIF or by investor of Category I and II AIFs in unlisted investee companies where such a Category I or Category II AIF(s) makes investment. At present, co-investment for AIF investors is facilitated through Co-investment Portfolio Managers under Portfolio Management Service (PMS) regulations. The regulator said that a separate CIV scheme shall be launched for each co-investment in an investee company subject to safeguards to ensure that the scheme is used only for bona fide purposes. The SEBI board has also decided to introduce a settlement scheme for certain stock brokers who traded on the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) platform and had applied/ were registered with SEBI as trading member / clearing member. The scheme will provide an opportunity to such stock brokers against whom enforcement actions have been taken by SEBI. By availing the benefit of the scheme, the stock brokers may settle such proceedings and seek expeditious conclusion of the said proceedings.
