Sebi asks depositories to maintain database of all shares

With an aim to ensure centralised record of all securities, market regulator Sebi today asked depositories to create and maintain a database of all shares including those in physical and demat formats with distinctive numbers for equity shares of all listed companies.

The move is aimed at ensuring centralised record of all securities, including both physical and dematerialised shares, issued by the company and its reconciliation thereof.

The DN database would make available, information in respect of issued capital, such as DN Range, number of equity shares issued, name of exchange, where the shares are listed, date of in-principle listing, final trading approval, shares held in physical or demat form, date of allotment, shares dematerialised under temporary ISIN (International Securities Identification Number) or Permanent ISIN at one place.

In a circular, Sebi asked depositories to "create and maintain a database to capture DN in respect of all physical equity shares and overall DN range for dematerialised equity shares issued by listed companies."

The depositories would have to provide an interface to the stock exchange, issuers/RTAs (registrar and transfer agents) for online updation and to depository participants for online enquiry. The same would be released for live updates latest by September 30, 2015.

The depositories would have to ensure that the database maintained by them is continuously updated and synchronised.

The initial synchronisation could be in batch mode and would thereafter shift to online mode.

"The depositories, in co-ordination with the stock exchanges...and the issuers/RTAs, shall facilitate the process of populating the database with details of equity share capital and the corresponding DN information as on September 30, 2015," Sebi noted.

Also, Sebi asked the exchanges to provide the information of all companies listed on the concerned bourse as on September 30 related to total number of equity shares for which final trading approval has been granted.

Besides, information related to number of equity shares for which in-principle listing approval has been accorded granted but final dealing permission is pending.

If there is mismatch in the DN information with the data provided by the exchanges in the database, the issuer/RTA would take steps to match the records and update the same latest by December 31, 2015.

Failure by the issuers/RTAs to ensure reconciliation of the records would attract appropriate actions under the laws.