The 22nd SEBI Board meeting has discussed various trends in the securities markets including technology trends and SEBI’s approach to proactively planning for the same going forward. Important decisions made during this meeting includes the following:
- Flexibility in the Framework for Large Corporates (LCs)
One of the significant decisions taken by the SEBI Board is to introduce flexibility in the framework for Large Corporates (LCs) to meet their financing needs through debt securities issuance. The measures approved include:
- Raising the monetary threshold to define LCs, reducing the number of qualifying entities.
- Removing penalties for LCs unable to raise a specific percentage of incremental borrowing from the debt market.
- Introducing incentives and moderated disincentives to encourage participation.
These changes aim to promote ease of compliance and business operations for LCs. It’s worth noting that LCs will still need to meet compliance requirements over a contiguous block of three years, but they will no longer be required to file statements identifying themselves as LCs and their compliance with the framework.
- Streamlining Unclaimed Investor Amounts
SEBI also approved amendments to streamline the process of handling unclaimed amounts of investors in listed entities (excluding companies, REITs, and InvITs) and facilitating refunds from the Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF). The key points of this decision are:
- Transferring unclaimed amounts held in escrow accounts for more than seven years to the IPEF for debt-listed entities.
- Transferring unclaimed or unpaid amounts to investors in REITs and InvITs to the IPEF.
- Implementing a uniform process for investors to claim their unclaimed amounts, promoting convenience and efficiency.
This change allows investors to approach the relevant entity to claim their unclaimed amounts, minimizing disruptions in the claim process.
- Extension of Compliance Timeline for Investment Advisers
SEBI had previously introduced enhanced qualification and experience requirements for investment advisers, with a compliance deadline set for September 30, 2023. However, in response to stakeholder feedback and to accommodate the evolving landscape of investment advice, SEBI has extended the compliance deadline to September 30, 2025. This extension provides investment advisers with more time to meet the enhanced requirements.
