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Context is everything.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Editor's note: Two important events from last week fit perfectly into Friction’s universe of corporate governance. On Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Board of India issued a discussion paper (surprisingly low on details) to review “ownership and governance” of stock exchanges and depositories. On Saturday, Anil Agarwal-helmed Vedanta Ltd announced an open offer by its parent to acquire a 10% stake from public shareholders at a discount of 12% to the stock’s prevailing market price. Clearly, despite last year’s drama of a failed delisting and minority investors crying foul, nothing can deter the company from its chosen path of acquiring its shares cheaply. Turning the clock back? In a bare-bones, 10-page discussion paper, the markets regulator presented its policy intent—that it wants to undo the past decade’s slow and painstaking effort to shutter a plethora of regional stock exchanges and the clean-up of national exchanges brought about by diversifying ownership. Without providing data, reasoning or an explanation of the benefits of its proposals, SEBI is looking to revolutionize ownership of exchanges, which had earlier been mired in controversy, court battles and politics. …
The Rs 250 SIP was launched last year by the former SEBI chairperson with one clear goal: financial inclusion. More than a year later, the much-hyped scheme doesn’t seem to have caught on with MF investors.
The central bank’s shift to a 100% collateral requirement threatens to erode leverage, reduce volumes and force a consolidation across prop desks.
While the regulator’s interim order alleges massive irregularities, the long arc of unfinished probes, hearings and appeals makes closure distant.
