Delisting norms to become simpler: SEBI

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is planning to review norms with respect to delisting of companies to make the process smoother, said chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch in an event on Thursday.

In addition, the regulator is looking to revise regulations for perpetual insiders, which include founders/promoters and senior executives. She pointed out that currently there exists no window for them to trade shares.

Speaking at the Capital Market Conference organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), she said the regulator will take the delisting proposal to its board at the next board meeting for approval.

Sebi had, on August 14, issued a consultation paper for reviewing the voluntary delisting norms. She asserted that the regulator is not guided by dogma but only by data and logic.

In case of perpetual insiders, she said that while there exists a regulation called the ‘Trading Plan’ for such perpetual insiders, nobody has ever filed the same. “Humara regulation hi galat hai (Our regulation itself is wrong),” she added.

As a result, it is under review following public consultation and will be taken up in the upcoming board meets.

Between 2003 and 2013, only 7% of circulars issued by the market regulator were consultation paper. However, over the next nine years, it rose to 17%, clearly indicating that it was consulting more. And in the past year, this number has almost doubled to 33%.