Secondary issue norms to be eased

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is planning to simplify procedures for secondary public offers of listed companies.

Sebi Chairman M Damodaran said norms would be relaxed only for those companies that had a track record of continuous disclosures and whose stock was regularly traded. He was addressing a seminar on listing in Mumbai.

The Sebi chairman also said the procedure for foreign companies to raise money in the Indian market by using Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs) would also be shortly completed. The plan was to put out regulations soon so that overseas companies could access the Indian capital market in the current financial year itself.

Commenting on the proposed simplification of procedures for secondary issues, Sebi officials said the objective was to make it easier for existing listed corporates to raise money from the market.

"Since they already have a track record and are subject to continuous disclosures, they should not be subjected to the same tedious processes as companies coming to the market for the first time," they said.

A concept note on this is being readied and will be put out shortly, Sebi officials said.

It may be recalled that concept of introduction of IDRs had been initiated during the tenure of former Sebi Chairman G N Bajpai and a preliminary draft paper had also been prepared on this.

The markets regulator intends to project India as not just a destination for investments and a large market but also a place to raise resources for overseas companies, the chairman said.