Mumbai: In a bid to bring more efficiency
in the primary market, market-regulator, Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Wednesday said it wants to bring
down the time required for IPO processing to seven days from
20 days at present over the next one year.
This would mean that the time taken for processing an
application for the Initial Public Offer (IPO) will be lesser,
which will add more efficiency to the listing process.
"The listing time should come down from 20 days to
seven days...primary market is somewhat inefficient compared
to the secondary market," Sebi Chairman, C B Bhave said at a
conference here.
However, while doing so, the timely settlement of
transactions will pose as the biggest bottleneck to the
system, which needs to be addressed, Bhave said.
Sebi has requested the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to
allow clearing entities to have an account with the Reserve
Bank, Bhave said.
With a view to bring more transparency, Sebi had
introduced Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA)
process in the IPO process and is looking at to make it
applicable to retail investors as well, Bhave said.
Besides, the regulator is of the view that there was a
need to reduce the cost of mutual funds and the risk of
investors.
"We need to look at releasing the cost of mutual funds
and risk of investors," Bhave said.
Bhave said the worst (of the global financial crisis)
is behind us, but the market should not get carried away with
the euphoria.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 23:36