Sebi:Realty MFs to be listed on stock exchanges

The board of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), at its meeting held today in Mumbai, approved guidelines for real estate mutual funds (REMFs).

According to the Sebi guidelines, real estate mutual fund schemes may invest directly or indirectly in real estate and shall be governed by the provisions and guidelines under Sebi (Mutual Funds) regulations. The structure of the REMFs, initially, shall be close ended. The units of REMFs shall be compulsorily listed on the stock exchanges and NAV of the scheme shall be declared daily. 

The Sebi board has also decided the shareholding of Venture Capital Funds (VCFs) and Foreign Venture Capital Investors (FCVIs) held in a company, prior to making an Initial Public Offering (IPO), would be exempt from lock-in requirements only if the shares are held by them for a period of at least 1 year at the time of filing of draft prospectus with Sebi.

This would help to ensure that only those VCFs and FCVIs who participate in the company with a long term perspective, are allowed to get the benefit of the exemption from requirement of lock-in as intended by the Sebi (Disclosure and Investor Protection) Guidelines.