‘No Obstacle In NSE IPO’: SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey
‘No Obstacle In NSE IPO’: SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey
He was speaking at the Financial Express CFO Awards
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey has announced that the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Initial Public Offer (IPO) does not face any obstacles.
He clarified that the ownership structure of clearing corporations was not hindering the IPO, and the country's largest stock bourse was resolving legal matters involving payments and cash withdrawals. Meanwhile, SEBI was proceeding cautiously with the 'T+0' settlement period.
While stating that countries had their own models on ownership of clearing corporations, the bureaucrat-turned-regulator, who assumed office in March, pointed out that in the United States, brokers owned it despite sitting as separate entities in India.
He explained that NSE was settling certain legal processes to pay some amount and withdraw some cases. Meanwhile, the regulator was not forcing the 'T+0' settlement period due to the complexities, especially regarding the foreign investors' play, though it would continue as an option.
Pandey stressed that the aim should be to take the number of domestic investors to 400 million in the next five years from the present 130 million unique investors in the capital market.
Elaborating on his discussions with foreign investors in India and abroad, he said that tax issues were not a deterrent, but other factors influenced it.
Pandey added, "Overall, our markets are stable, our domestic investors, domestic flows are good. We are capable of handling the volatility, which increased post-tariff, like for the rest of the world. But it was not as high as in some other countries, and certainly, it is well within our manageable limit.”
Speaking about the need to regulate less to spur economic growth, the SEBI chief said that CFOs played a crucial role in ensuring the financial integrity and accountability of listed companies. Therefore, timely, accurate and reliable financial information is because of them.
He expressed that the market looks for credibility. Investors depend on the disclosures and regulatory bodies rely on that. He furthered that nobody could guarantee the egregious behaviour, and mentioned the recent experience with Gensol, asserting that the findings should not make anyone digress from the ease in regulations.
