The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has introduced multiple regulatory changes to simplify IPO norms and foreign portfolio investment rules, along with easing entry requirements for advisory certifications. Notably, large firms with a market capitalization exceeding Rs 50,000 crore will benefit from more flexible listing norms, allowing for smaller float sizes of at least Rs 1,000 crore and a minimum of eight percent of the post-issue market capitalization. Additionally, the timeline for meeting the 25 percent minimum public shareholding requirement has been extended to up to 10 years. Companies of various market capitalizations are also receiving proportional relaxations.
The allocation for anchor investors in IPOs has now risen to 40 percent, which includes allocations for insurance and pension funds as part of the reserved quota. Sebi has also reduced thresholds for related-party transactions, easing compliance burdens for larger firms. Furthermore, a new category for accredited investors (AI) in alternative investment funds has been established, with the minimum investment size for Large Value Funds reduced from Rs 70 crore to Rs 25 crore. Sovereign wealth funds and pension funds will benefit from the newly introduced SWAGAT-FI framework, which offers 10-year registrations, a single demat account, and exemptions from the FVCI rule that mandates 66 percent of the corpus in unlisted equity.
