Page 2 - Securities Market

Sebi seeks to boost trust in mkt, expands qualified stock broker framework

Sebi on Monday announced expanding the Qualified Stock Broker (QSB) framework that will bring more brokers under enhanced obligations, a move aimed at bolstering the trust of investors in the securities market. The decision will also help in strengthening the compliance culture among stock brokers. Now, the parameters of proprietary trading volumes, compliance and grievance redressal scores will also be taken into account while classifying stock brokers as QSBs, according to a circular. At present, there are five parameters for classifying a stock broker under the QSB framework -- total number of active clients, available total assets of clients, trading volumes of the stock broker (excluding the proprietary trading volume of the stock broker), and the end of day margin obligations of all clients. The margin obligations exclude the proprietary margin obligation of the stock broker concerned in all segments. QSBs are required to meet various enhanced obligations and discharge ...

Tax dept finds inconsistencies in transaction report of market entity

The income tax department on Monday said it has identified "certain inconsistencies" in the data of the securities market provided by one of the reporting entities in the statement of financial transactions (SFT). In a post on X, the I-T department said based on feedback from taxpayers on the e-campaign for advance tax, the inconsistencies have come to light and the reporting entity has been asked to submit a revised statement to the department. "Hence, the data on AIS (Annual Information Statement) will be updated. Taxpayers are advised to wait for further updates on AIS based on the revised statement," the I-T department said. As per income tax rules, specified institutions are required to furnish SFT to the I-T department with the details of certain financial transactions or any reportable account registered/recorded/maintained by them during the year. The data submitted in SFT then gets reflected in the Annual Information Statement (AIS) of the taxpayer. "The Department has ..

Sebi extends deadline for comments on revamp of nominations framework

Markets regulator Sebi has extended the deadline till March 28 for submitting public comments on the proposal to revamp the nominations framework, a move aimed at reducing unclaimed assets in the securities market. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had placed the consultation paper to revise and revamp nomination facilities for the Indian securities market on its website on February 2 and sought comments by March 8. Now, it has been decided to extend the timeline for submission of comments to March 28, the Sebi said. In its consultation paper, the regulator proposed revamping the nominations framework in a move to reduce unclaimed assets in the securities market as well as smoothen the process for claiming the assets by surviving successors of the deceased investors. Also, it suggested revisions to nomination facilities for securities such as shares, bonds, units of REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts), InvITs (Infrastructure Investment Trusts), AIFs (Alternative .

Central Depository Services India to inspect Paytm Money's KYC process

Central Depository Services India (CDSL) may initiate inspection into Paytm Money's customer verification protocols following RBI's directives and regulatory actions against Paytm Payments Bank

Sebi mulls revamping nominations framework to reduce unclaimed assets

Capital markets regulator Sebi on Friday proposed revamping the nominations framework in a bid to reduce unclaimed assets in the securities market as well as smoothen the process for claiming the assets by surviving successors of the deceased investors. In its consultation paper, the regulator proposed revisions to nomination facilities for securities such as shares, bonds, units of REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts), InvITs (Infrastructure Investment Trusts), AIFs (Alternative Investment Funds) and other securities held in dematerialized form and for units of mutual fund schemes that are expressed in a statement of account. This will address the objective of providing convenience to investors and uniformity in the procedures to institutions. Such revamped nomination facilities will operate without affecting the prevalent systems of law governing transmission and succession -- rule of survivorship in case of joint holdings, when a person has died leaving a Will; and when a perso

Front-running case: Sebi bans 7 cos from securities market for up to 3 yrs

Sebi on Wednesday barred seven entities from the securities market for up to three years and directed to disgorge 'unlawful profit' of Rs 35 lakh made by them in a case of front-running the trades of Sanctum Wealth Management (now known as Sanctum Wealth). Front-running refers to an illegal practice in the stock market where an entity trades based on advanced information from a broker or analyst before the information has been made available to its clients. In its order, Sebi has prohibited Kishan Vishram Nanda from the securities market for three years and six entities related to him for one year. Additionally, the regulator imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on Nanda. Besides, these seven entities have been directed to disgorge a sum of Rs 34,84,605 along with an interest of 12 per cent per annum. The present matter came out from an alert generated by Sebi's surveillance system indicating the suspected front-running of trades of Sanctum Wealth by certain connected entities. After this,

Sebi bans individual from securities markets for unregistered PMS business

Markets regulator Sebi has restrained an individual from the securities markets for a period of two years for providing unregistered portfolio management services. The regulator also directed Sanbun Investments, its proprietor Nishaan Singh (Noticee) to cease and desist from acting as or holding himself out to be a portfolio manager. Sebi directed the noticee to refund Rs 16.19 crore received from clients and/or investors as fees or consideration or, in respect of their unregistered portfolio management activities within a period of three months, Sebi said in its order on Tuesday. The order came after Sebi received a complaint in October 2022 against Sanbun Investments, which is the sole proprietorship concern of Nishaan Singh. Pursuant to the receipt of the complaint, the regulator conducted an investigation to ascertain the veracity of the complaint and whether there had been any violation of PMS (Portfolio Managers) regulations. "I note that under the garb of providing courses

REC to raise about Rs 3,500 crore via yen-denominated green bonds

State-owned REC Ltd on Friday announced it will raise 61.1 billion yens (about Rs 3,500 crore) through issuance of green bonds. The bonds will issued as part of REC's USD 10-billion global medium-term note programme, the company said in a regulatory filing. Giving the break-up of each note, the company said a five-year bond worth 31 billion yens will have a coupon rate of 1.67 per cent, a 27.4-billion yen paper with maturity in 5.25 years will have a coupon rate of 1.79 per cent, and another 2.7-billion yen bond having maturity period of 10 years will carry a coupon rate of 2.20 per cent. These bonds will be listed on Global Securities Market of India International Exchange (India INX) and NSE IFSC, the company said. REC said the net proceeds from these notes will be used to finance green projects in accordance with the REC's Green Finance Framework and the external commercial borrowing guidelines and directions of the Reserve Bank of lndia (RBI). REC, under the Ministry of Power,

Sebi tweaks norms for online resolution of disputes in securities market

Sebi on Wednesday tweaked the framework with respect to online resolution of disputes in the securities market to provide clarity on certain aspects. In its circular, the regulator has provided clarity on the online arbitration process, and arbitrator's fee, among others. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said that the market participant against whom the investor pursues the online arbitration will participate in the arbitration process. Accordingly, within 10 days of the initiation of the online arbitration by the investor, the market participant will make the deposit of 100 per cent of the admissible claim value with the relevant MII (market infrastructure institutions) and make the payment of the fees for online arbitration. Non-adherence to rule by market participants may result in action against them by MIIs or Sebi. In case the market participants plan to pursue online arbitration then they will have to inform the ODR (Online Dispute Resolution) institution .

Govt asks private companies to dematerialise securities by Sept 2024

The government has asked private companies to dematerialise their securities by September 2024, a move that will help enhance transparency and will have a broad impact. The requirement will be applicable to private companies, excluding small companies and government companies. There are about 1.4 million private companies registered under the companies law with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). Private companies can issue securities only in dematerialised form and should facilitate the dematerialisation of all securities by September 2024, according to an MCA notification. Dematerialisation refers to the conversion of securities held in physical form to dematerialised or digitised form. In this regard, amendments have been made to the Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Second Amendment Rules, 2023. "A private company, which as on the last day of a financial year, ending on or after 31st March 2023, is not a small company as per audited financial statements

Sebi bans individual from securities mkt for flouting regulatory norms

Capital markets regulator Sebi has barred an individual from the securities markets for a period of five years as well as slapped a fine of Rs 30 lakh for flouting regulatory norms. Besides, the regulator restrained Mohit Manghnani (proprietor of Wealthit Global) from associating himself as a director or key managerial personnel with any listed public company or any Sebi-registered intermediary for a period of five years. Sebi also directed Manghnani to resolve all complaints received through the regulator's SCORES portal within a period of three months. The order came after the markets watchdog had passed an ex parte order against Manghnani and the latter approached the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), which remanded the matter back to Sebi and directed the regulator to pass a fresh order. In its order passed on Friday, the regulator found that the noticee (Manghnani) did not cooperate with Sebi during the inspection and deceived its clients by not disclosing the information a

Sebi refuses to stay securities market ban on Eros International Media

Sebi on Friday refused to lift the securities market ban imposed on Eros International Media Ltd and four others in an alleged fund diversion case. Further, an investigation by Sebi will be completed in six months in the matter, according to the order. Apart from Eros International, the ban from dealing in the securities market will continue on its Managing Director Sunil Arjan Lulla, Chief Executive Officer Pradeep Kumar Dwivedi and the two promoter entities -- Eros Worldwide FZ LLC and Eros Digital Private Ltd. Sebi, in an interim order in June, had prohibited these five entities from the securities markets in a case pertaining to the possible diversion of funds based on prima facie findings, and now, it has confirmed the ban against them. In its confirmatory order passed on Friday, Sebi said that "no cogent reasoning has been furnished by the noticees (the five entities) about the prima facie findings in the interim order, including the allegations of siphoning off funds to ...

Gross market borrowing for H2 to be Rs 6.55 trn, 50-yr bond to be issued

The government on Tuesday said it will borrow Rs 6.55 lakh crore in the second half of 2023-24 through dated securities, including Rs 20,000 crore through issuance of Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs). The government meets its fiscal deficit mainly through market borrowings. The government had projected gross market borrowing of Rs 15.43 lakh crore for 2023-24. "...the Government of India has decided to borrow the balance amount of Rs 6.55 lakh crore (42.45 per cent of Rs 15.43 lakh crore) in the second half of the fiscal year 2023-24 through dated securities, including Rs 20,000 crore through issuance of Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs)," the finance ministry said in a statement. "Responding to market demand for longer duration securities, 50-year security will be issued for the first time," it added. The gross market borrowing of Rs 6.55 lakh crore will be completed through 20 weekly auctions. The market borrowing will be spread over 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 30, 40 and 50-year securities. The

Sebi board clears various proposals, discusses tech in securities market

Markets regulator Sebi on Thursday decided to provide flexibility to large corporates in raising funds through issuance of debt securities for incremental financing needs. The decision was taken at the board meeting of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) held here on Thursday. In a release, Sebi said its board also discussed various trends in the securities markets, including technology trends. Besides, the board has approved streamlining the framework for credit of unclaimed amounts of investors in listed entities to the Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF) and process of refund from the IPEF. This will be applicable for listed entities other than companies, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs). The regulator has also decided to extend the timeline for compliance with enhanced qualification and experience requirements for Investment Advisers (IAs).

Sebi bars Eros Group entities, MD from securities mkt over irregularities

The SEBI has barred Eros International Media Ltd, Eros Worldwide and Eros Digital from the securities market until further orders

Sebi revokes securities market ban on 6 entities in Poonawalla Fincorp case

Markets regulator Sebi on Thursday revoked a securities market ban imposed on six entities in a case of alleged insider trading in the shares of Poonawalla Fincorp Ltd, earlier known as Magma Fincorp Ltd. The six entities are Saumil Shah, Surabhi Kishore Shah, Amit Agrawal, Murlidhar Bajaranglal Agrawal, Rakesh Rajendra Bhojgadhiya and Rakesh Rajendra Bhojgadhiya HUF. The regulator revoked the ban following the settlement of cases by the entities. The six entities had filed the settlement applications under the provisions of Sebi (Settlement proceedings) rules in respect of the alleged violation of norms, according to a Sebi order. The settlement terms proposed by the noticees were accepted and approved by Sebi and subsequently, settlement orders were passed in respect of the proceedings initiated against the noticees vide the show cause notice. Sebi had passed an ex-parte ad-interim order in September 2021, against certain entities, including the noticees, for alleged violation o

Sebi bars entities from securities market over stock manipulation

Sebi levied a penalty of about 1.26 billion rupees towards wrongful gains made from alleged market manipulation of small-cap companies through bulk messages

Sebi revokes securities market ban on 8 former promoter entities of DHFL

Sebi on Friday revoked the securities market ban imposed on eight former promoter entities of Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) in a case pertaining to alleged fraudulent financial transactions. Also, the regulator said the investigation in the matter had been completed and thereafter it initiated quasi-judicial proceedings against Kapil Wadhawan, Dheeraj Wadhawan, Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan who were the other four former promoters of DHFL (now known as Piramal Finance). The eight former promoter entities are -- Aruna Wadhawan, Malti Wadhawan, Anu Wadhawan, Pooja Wadhawan, Wadhawan Holdings Pvt Ltd, Wadhawan Consolidated Holdings Pvt Ltd, Wadhawan Retail Venture Pvt Ltd and Wadhawan Global Capital Ltd (formerly known as Wadhawan Housing Pvt Ltd). The entities are collectively referred to as noticees. In its fresh order, Sebi's Whole Time Member Ashwani Bhatia said, "I note that the investigation in the matter has now been completed, and quasi-judicial proceedings are

Manipulation via Youtube: Sebi penalises Arshad Warsi, wife, 29 others

Sebi noted that Arshad Warsi has made a profit of Rs 29.43 lakh and his wife has earned a profit of Rs 37.56 lakh

Sebi bans 2 individuals from securities markets, fines for insider trading

Capital markets regulator Sebi has barred two individuals from securities markets for one year and levied penalties totalling Rs 25 lakh on them for indulging in insider trading in the shares of Aptech Ltd. In addition, Sebi directed two individuals -- Lashit Lallubhai Sanghvi and his wife Neha Sanghvi -- to disgorge notional profits totalling Rs 99.72 lakh along with interest at the rate of 9 per cent per annum from September 2016 till the date of actual payment. Lashit, Late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and others co-founded Alchemy Capital Management, an investment management firm, and Jhunjhunwala was the chairman/ promoter of Aptech. Besides, the regulator restrained Lashit and Neha from securities markets for one year and also barred them from dealing in the securities of Aptech for two years. The present proceeding emanated from a show cause notice issued in October 2020 against nine individuals, including Late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Lashit Sanghvi and Neha Sanghvi, following an ...