Sebi board to meet on Saturday to discuss reform measures

Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi) board will meet on Saturday to take forward reform measures and discuss amending Debenture Trustee regulations, steps taken regarding P-notes, collective investment scheme and cases involving NSE and NSEL.

Before the meeting, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will also address Sebi's board and top officials on steps announced in the Union Budget with regard to capital markets and overall economy.

The Sebi board is likely to initiate a public consultation process for changes to the Debenture Trustee (DT) regulations, wherein an entity will not be prohibited from acting as a trustee if the government provides guarantees for the debenture issued, sources said.

Among various changes, Sebi is proposing a change in the definition of principal officer, who is entrusted with overseeing the activities of the DT, to include Key Management Personnel who in turn can be a CEO, managing director, company secretary, whole-time Director, CFO or such other officer.

The proposed changes follow recommendations from a Sebi- appointed task force for examining the "challenges in performing the obligations and duties as DTs to protect the interests of the debenture holders".

Also, Sebi's board would take up the issue of alleged unfair access at National Stock Exchange (NSE).

The (Sebi) is likely to discuss steps taken with regard to collective investment scheme (CIS) and participatory notes (P-notes).

The regulator has sought clarification from the Special Investigation Team, set up by the Supreme Court to check black money, regarding stricter norms for P-notes used by overseas investors, Sebi chief U K Sinha said yesterday.

SIT had recommended a slew of measures including the need for Sebi to come up with stricter regulations on P-notes or Offshore Derivative Instruments (ODIs), which are often viewed as a route for channelising illicit funds.

This would probably be the last board meeting of Sinha, whose term as the chairman of Sebi ends on March 1.

Further, the board is likely to discuss the high-profile NSEL (National Spot Exchange Ltd) scam case.

The regulator plans to act against five brokers found to be involved in irregular activities even as it has ruled out any ponzi-angle or collective investment scheme in the trading model of the erstwhile spot exchange.

Sebi has also forwarded relevant findings of its inspection of the rule of the five brokers to Mumbai Police's Economic Offence Wing, Department of Revenue, Department of Consumer Affairs, Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and the RBI for necessary action at their end.