Market reforms on the anvil

Stock market regulator securities and exchange Board of India (SEBI) is pushing ahead with market reforms. It is now keen to make the rights issue process simpler.

The matter will now be debated at the regulator’s Primary Market Advisory Committee. SEBI wants to condense the rights issue time to just a week as is the case with initial public offers (IPOs).

The electronic mode of payment and allotment for IPOs is likely to be extended to rights offers as well. SEBI hopes that this will encourage companies to raise funds through rights issues instead of going for private placements.

—Rishi Joshi