Sebi staff mull forming association

Stunned by the Central Bureau of India (CBI)'s first information report (FIR) against three of their colleagues, employees at the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) are considering setting up an association. The objective of the proposed union will be to protect the rights of the staffers, most of whom work on cases involving large corporates. The tasks and responsibilities of Sebi officials have undergone a change with the new powers the regulators have gained. In recent times, Sebi officials have drawn ire while cracking down on Ponzi investment schemes in several parts of the country.

Investment companies under focus In the past few days, investment companies of two Pune-based groups are under focus. The share price of Kirloskar Brothers Investments is up almost Rs 1,000 - from Rs 1,600 to Rs 2,559 - in one week. Kalyani Investments Company - which has a varied investment portfolio consisting of both listed and unlisted companies in diversified sectors such as forging, steel, power generation and chemicals - is also up 35 per cent during the week. Market sources said both these companies are looking to increase the shareholding value of their investment companies. Kirloskar Brothers has already started the process by merging the holding company, Kirloskar Oil Engines and a new company called Pneumatic Holdings Company, which will increase the shareholders' value. Market players say Kalyani may also have similar plans to merge companies.

MF sacks employees for misusing IAP funds A leading fund house has sacked several employees in the past couple of months for misusing the funds earmarked for Investor Awareness Programme (IAP). Industry sources say many employees of the fund house have been misusing the monies meant for this programme by producing false bills of non-existent programmes. Sources said that these employees were also found to be promoting their own schemes in the IAP, violating the market regulator's diktat. When the fund house was informed of this by internal whistle-blowers, they asked a number of employees to resign while smaller offenders were handed out exemplary punishment that included monetary cuts as well as transfer in job posting.

Securities and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI )