Mumbai June 29 2023: India’s securities market regulator tightened disclosure norms for large foreign portfolio investors and those with a majority of their investments in a single Indian business group.
The new regulation demands disclosure of all beneficial owners of foreign investors with more than 250 billion rupees ($3 billion) invested in Indian equities or have more than 50% of equity assets under management invested in a single corporate group, Securities and Exchange Board of India said in a statement after a board meeting Wednesday.
The need for enhanced disclosures comes after allegations against Adani Group, of routing founder’s funds via foreign investors to purchase shares to meet minimum public shareholding norms. The conglomerate has denied any wrong doings.
For three years, the SEBI has been investigating the ownership of 13 foreign entities with funds invested mostly in shares of Adani Group. So far, the probe has yielded no outcome, the regulator recently told a committee appointed by the nations top court to look into some of the allegations, including those by short seller Hindenburg Research in January, and the regulator’s response to them.
The board also approved a cut in timeline for listing shares in a public issue by half to three days, in Wednesday’s meeting, according to the statement.
