Concentration concerns

Sebi's proposal will make FPIs more transparent

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has released a consultation paper on the framework for mandating additional disclosures from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to guard against possible circumvention of minimum public shareholding (MPS) and misuse of the FPI route to circumvent Press Note 3 (PN3). This boils down to seeking the actual beneficial owners of shares held by an FPI, which has a concentrated portfolio. It tightens the disclosure requirements about beneficial ownership, which had earlier been relaxed. It should be welcomed as a move towards increasing transparency and reducing chances of price manipulation. This paper is likely