SEBI loosens strings on Rs 500 cr IPO

Chennai:

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will open 10 local offices across India in a bid to delegate more power to regional offices, according to SEBI chairman U K Sinha.

Speaking to reporters after opening SEBI’s new southern regional office in Chennai at Anna Salai on Monday, he said of the 10 , three will be in southern region.

The three new offices include Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kochi, he said. “We are planning to decentralize powers and companies can file initial public offerings for an issue size of up to Rs 500 crore with regional offices of Sebi,: he said.

He also said SEBI is planning a strategy to woo young investors to invest in market. “We are launching awareness campaign and reaching out to schools and colleges,” he added.

Citing a National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER), he household investing in markets have gone up from 11.24 per cent in 2001 to 24 per cent in 2012.

Sinha also said SEBI is working on regulation increase penetration of mutual funds in the rural areas.

He also said that regulation for alternate mutual fund would be in place within next two weeks.

G V Ramakrishnan, former chairman of SEBI, who inaugurated the SEBI’s premises, said India escaped from many global crisis as it was insulated from international market. But now things are different and India will be affected by the euro crisis. “This brings in additional responsibilities for SEBI which includes evaluating international rating agencies.

Interestingly, the building where SEBI moved in is its own. It was being brought in by a consortium of agencies which include Small Industries Development Bank of India, Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India and other agencies and developed byCentral Public Works Department.