Sebi to issue guidelines soon on e-IPOs

In a bid to revitalise the primary issue segment, capital market regulator Sebi will soon announce guidelines to sell shares through electronic Initial Public Offers (e-IPOs).

"We are trying to reform whole process...we will soon announce guidelines for e-IPOs. This will help in increasing the reach of distribution of IPOs," Sebi Whole-Time member Rajeev Kumar Agarwal said at an Assocham event.

An e-IPO is a mechanism through which investment in public offerings can be done online without signing any physical documents.

e-IPOs will help in fast-track the public offer process and lower costs, besides allowing investors to apply for shares and buy them at a click on computers without the need for signature on bulky physical documents.

Though the e-IPO concept has been in the pipeline for some time, a formal decision could not be taken because of various regulatory issues.

In fact, the Sebi board was informed on November 24 that implementing an e-IPO requires amendments to the Companies Act, dispensing with the requirements of an investor to agree in writing to the offer, as there would be no physical form submission in a demat application.