No Change to Exchange Self-Listing Policy
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Chairman, Tuhin Kanta Pandey, has clarified that there is currently no proposal to reconsider the existing regulation that prohibits stock exchanges from listing and trading their own shares on their respective platforms. Pandey made these remarks to journalists following his address at the annual conclave of the Association of Portfolio Managers in India on Wednesday.
When questioned about the potential formation of a committee to examine the self-listing of exchanges, Pandey responded, "There is no such thing at the moment." He added, "If it happens or when it happens, you will come to know."
Under the present regulatory framework, a stock exchange going public is not permitted to have its shares listed and traded on its own trading system. For instance, shares of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) cannot be listed or traded on the BSE itself, nor can National Stock Exchange (NSE) shares be traded on the NSE platform.
Accelerating FPI Registration
In a separate but related development, Sebi and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are collaboratively working to streamline and expedite the registration process for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). Pandey highlighted that both regulators are actively addressing bottlenecks to make the onboarding process faster, simpler, and more digital.
Significant progress has been made, with successful tests of onboarding FPIs within five working days for certain jurisdictions. Pandey emphasized the close cooperation between the RBI and Sebi, stating, "RBI and Sebi have been working very closely and we have been able to sort out many issues, including FPI onboarding where we are currently engaged very actively on ironing out issues so that we are able to do very fast onboarding." The regulators aim to simplify the process further to attract more foreign investment.