Sebi tightens IPO valuation scrutiny, jolts start-ups eyeing listings

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has tightened scrutiny of initial public offering (IPO)-bound firms by questioning how key internal business metrics are used to arrive at valuations, unsettling bankers and companies, who fear delays in listing plans, sources with direct knowledge told Reuters.
 

Sebi’s push comes after the flop listing of SoftBank-backed payments firm Paytm’s $2.5 billion IPO in November, which sparked criticism of lax oversight of how loss-making companies price issues at what some say are lofty valuations.
 

Sebi last month flagged concerns in proposing stricter disclosures, saying more and more new-age tech firms which “generally