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The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), in its Board meeting on September 30, is likely to take up a host of measures, including the introduction of new asset class and mutual fund lite regulations.
The board may also clear the proposal to launch a product which would be a combination of rights issue and preferential allotment of shares.
The meeting assumes importance as it is the first board meeting of Sebi since the Hindenburg Research and Congress’ recent allegations of ‘conflict of interest’ against its Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch. The Buchs have denied any wrongdoing.
One of the key focus areas which the Sebi board members are likely to discuss is the recent concerns raised by the Sebi officers on issues around unprofessional work culture and house rent allowance (HRA).
In July, the Sebi had proposed to introduce a ‘New Asset Class’ which will offer investment products between mutual funds and portfolio management services (PMS). The new category of products, to be introduced under the mutual fund structure, is set to have a minimum investment limit of Rs 10 lakh.
Earlier this year, the markets regulator had floated a consultation paper to introduce Mutual Fund (MF) Lite regulations for passively managed mutual fund schemes. This relaxed regulatory framework for passive MF schemes is aimed at reducing compliance requirements, increasing penetration, facilitating investment diversification and fostering innovation.
The Sebi board is also likely to tighten the norms to curb speculative trading in the Futures & Options (F&O) trading. In July this year, the capital markets regulator had proposed a series of short-term measures to curb speculative trading in index derivatives, including restricting multiple option contract expires, raising the size of options contracts and intraday monitoring of position limits.
Last month, the Sebi Chairperson had said that the regulator received nearly 6,000 responses on the consultation paper on measures to strengthen index derivatives framework.
