Sebi to draft proposals on high frequency trading soon

Sebi chief U K Sinha also said there will be monitoring of compliance by intermediaries

The head of India's capital markets regulator said on Wednesday it would increase monitoring of brokers and auditors and issue draft proposals for high frequency trading, laying out an ambitious agenda for itself in the year ahead.

It will also seek a better arbitration mechanism for investors, take a closer look at cyber-security, and focus on the implementation of recent regulations such as disclosure rules for listed companies, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Chairman U K Sinha said.

The government in February extended Sinha's tenure by another year. He has been at the helm since 2011, a period during which SEBI has made it a priority to enhance market supervision, crack down on trading violations and shore up the confidence of retail investors.

That is an approach that will continue, Sinha said during an interaction with media at the Sebi headquarters in Mumbai.

He said there would be "monitoring of compliance by intermediaries," including brokers and "oversight of gatekeepers" such as auditors to prevent companies from engaging in deceitful activity.

SEBI will also aim to reduce the number of listed companies, Sinha said, estimating India had several thousand companies in exchanges including regional ones, many of which hardly trade or have been suspended for years.

The regulator would also issue a discussion paper on high frequency trades in the next three to four months, Sinha added, with a focus on ensuring that retail or other investors who do not have access to algorithimic trading are not disadvantaged.