In a move that may lead to faster primary market issuances, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) today said Asba (applications supported by blocked amount) facility would also be extended to non-retail, high net worth and corporate investors. The measure was introduced in Sebi’s scheme of ASBA-II. All investors, except qualified institutional buyers, would be able to apply through the facility, a Sebi circular said.
ASBA phase II will be made applicable from January 1, 2010. Banks and stock exchanges have been asked to upgrade their systems for this by December 25.
Under ASBA, the application money remains blocked in the bank account till allotment. Close to 20-25 per cent of retail applications in the past three months have come through this. Experts said if most applications came through Asba, the allotment process would be faster and Sebi would be able to reduce the time between the closure of the issue and its listing.