Sebi proposes sweeping changes to HNI allotment process for IPOs

Also suggests changes to price discovery norms

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has mulled a new approach for price discovery and share allotment process for so-called high networth individuals (HNIs) in an initial public offering (IPO).

In a consultation paper issued on Monday, the regulator has proposed a category within category for high-networth individuals (HNI) to safeguard the interest of those that submit relatively low-ticket bids. A minimum five per cent price band---difference between lower and upper end has also been proposed.

Sebi has issued concerns over large HNIs crowding out smaller ones during an IPO. It has been proposed to divide the HNI