Sebi says procedural aspects of FMC merger being worked out

On the merger of FMC, the Sebi chief said that the good thing is that the bill provides that there will be different dates for notification of different sections of the Act

Capital markets regulator Sebi today said the proposed merger of commodities watchdog FMC with it is on track and it is coordinating with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to ensure a smooth transition.

"There are one or two minor suggestions which we have made to the government. But these are more procedural rather than anything substantial in nature," Sebi Chairman U K Sinha said here today, adding that there are no major problems.

Separately with regard to the Offer for Sale mechanism, where it has been suggested to close secondary market trading when shares are sold through this route, Sinha said the matter needs to be understood properly.

"The problem is that we have to understand what is a secondary market transaction and what is a primary market transaction. However, we are in dialogue with the Ministry and we'll jointly come to a solution," he said.

On the merger of FMC, the Sebi chief said, "The good thing is that the bill provides that there will be different dates for notification of different sections of the Act. That will take care of many of our requirements. FMC, Sebi and Ministry of Finance are coordinating how to make a smooth transition."

Sinha said Finance Minister has already made an announcement and changes in the law have already been provided for.

"According to us, there are no major problems in the proposals," he added.

Jaitley had announced in the Budget last month that India will have a unified regulator for commodities and capital markets following merger of Forward Markets Commission (FMC) with Sebi.

The merger would help streamline monitoring of commodity futures trading and curb wild speculations. In the wake of a major payment crisis at the National Spot Exchange Ltd, FMC was brought under Finance Ministry in 2013.

The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) had recommended that Sebi, IRDA, PFRDA and FMC should be merged into unified financial agency (UFA).