Date:19/10/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/10/19/stories/2005101902980800.htm

Back SEBI to ease norms for IPOs: Damodaran

Our Bureau

Mumbai , Oct. 18

SEBI is considering easing norms further for companies planning to raise funds in the domestic market, its Chairman, Mr M. Damodaran, said today.

However, he declined to give details of the changes the market regulator is planning to make. "The details will be known soon," he said at a meeting organised by Confederation of Indian Industry.

In the past few months, several companies have been planning to raise funds from the primary market. Recently, SEBI made changes in the book-building norms in the IPO, where the allotment of shares for institutional investors has to be on proportionate basis instead of discretionary.

Mr Damodaran said the objective for the changes is to make issuer to raise funds in a much simpler manner.

He also said a lot of reforms in the capital market has taken place and more need to be done.

Meanwhile, the New York Stock Exchange CEO, Mr John A, Thain, said several Indian companies have started generating cash and due to this they are not raising funds in the US market.

However, he is hopeful that several companies from India could list on NYSE in future.

He said the recent acquisition of Archipelago Holdings, which owns a stock exchange in the US, would also be a platform for several companies from India and other emerging markets to list which otherwise cannot get listed on NYSE.