Norms for SME listings on Monday

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) would soon be able to access the capital markets.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is working on listing norms for these companies and key decisions are likely to be taken at a meeting on Monday, November 9, M S Sahoo, wholetime member of Sebi, said.

The SME sector, the second-largest employer after agriculture, contributes 20% to India’s gross domestic product.

Establishing a platform for SMEs to get listed in order to raise capital more easily has been under discussion for the last couple of years.

Sahoo said the Monday meeting would also help finalise guidelines to limit subscription to investors who understand the SME business and the risk of investing in such enterprises.
“Sebi would make 100% underwriting compulsory for issues by merchant bankers,” Sahoo said at the MSME Innovation Summit organised by Assocham on Wednesday.
There would also be some relaxation of disclosure norms, said Sahoo. “Sebi would make them go electronic to reduce the cost of disclosure, reduce frequency of disclosure of
financial statements to half-yearly from quarterly now,” he said.