Sebi moots stricter framework for identifying FPI beneficial owners

Current threshold of 25% too high for certain categories of investors, fears the regulator

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is mooting a stricter framework for identifying “beneficial owners (BOs)” of foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in the country.

The regulator is studying the viability and impact of lowering the threshold for BOs for providing additional information, said people aware of the discussions.

FPIs (fund) are pooled vehicles that put money in domestic securities and are registered with Sebi, just like mutual funds here. Under the current framework, the beneficial ownership of all the entities that make significant contributions to the fund needs to be disclosed.

If the investor in the fund is