Sebi notifies guidelines on infra debt fund

Market regulator Sebi on Tuesday notifiedguidelines for launching infrastructure debt fund (IDF) which would invest 90per cent of its assets in debt securities of the sector companies.

"An infrastructure debt fund scheme shall be launchedas close-ended scheme maturing after more than five years or interval schemewith lock-in of five years...," Sebi said in a circular.

Infrastructure debt fund (IDF) scheme, which can be set upby any existing mutual fund, would invest a minimum 90 per cent of schemeassets in the debt securities and should have a minimum of five investors.

The minimum investment into IDF would be Rs 1 crore and theminimum size of the unit would be 10 lakh, Sebi said.

The IDF, which was proposed by Finance Minister PranabMukherjee in the Union Budget for FY12, is aimed at accelerating and enhancingflow of long-term debt for funding the ambitious programme of infrastructuredevelopment in the country.

Sebi said the strategic investor would have to make a firmcommitment of Rs 25 crore. The units of infrastructure debt fund schemes shallbe listed on the stock exchange.

"An infrastructure debt fund shall have minimum fiveinvestors and no single investor shall hold more than 50 per cent of net assetsof the scheme," Sebi added.

The requirement of infrastructure in the 12th Plan has beenpegged at $1 trillion.

As per the government norms an IDF may be set up either as atrust or company. While the trust based IDF (Mutual Fund) would be regulated bySebi, an IDF set up as a company (NBFC) would be regulated by RBI.