ODI subscribers will have to seek prior permission of the original ODI issuer for transfer of ODIs
Stock market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has tightened norms for issuers and subscribers of offshore derivative instruments (ODIs) or participatory notes (P-notes) for the purpose of enhancing the transparency and control over the issuance of ODIs. In order to bring about uniformity in the know-your client (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) norms, it has been decided that Indian KYC/AML norms will now be applicable to all ODI issuers. The KYC/AML norms applicable to ODI issuers will be the same as that for all other domestic investors.
Sebi also said that ODI issuers would have to identify and verify the beneficial owners in the subscriber entities, who hold in excess of the threshold that is 25% in case of a company and 15% in case of partnership firms/trusts/unincorporated bodies. The ODI issuers will have to identify and verify the persons who control the operations of these entities, Sebi said in a press release issued yesterday, 19 May 2016, after the conclusion of a meeting of the Sebi board in Mumbai. P-notes are derivative instruments issued by registered foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to overseas investors to enable them to trade in Indian stocks without having to register with Sebi.
The ODI subscribers will have to seek prior permission of the original ODI issuer for transfer of ODIs. As per prevailing regulations, ODI subscribers are not required to take prior permission of the ODI issuer for transfer of ODIs to another investor offshore. The ODI issuers will have to capture the details of all intermediate transfers during the month and report the same to Sebi in the prescribed monthly report. Presently, ODIs issuers submit the details of the holder of ODIs in a monthly report to Sebi. The regulator also said that ODI issuers would have to file suspicious transaction reports with the Indian Financial Intelligence Unit on the ODIs issued by them. Besides, the ODI issuers will have to carry out reconfirmation of the ODI positions on a semi-annual basis.
According to Sebi data, the notional value of ODIs to the AUC (assets under custody) of FPIs has declined over the years from a high of 55.7% in June 2007 to 10% in March 2016.
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