SEBI amends norms to ease rules for PSU disinvestment

Sebi can relax regulatory norms for the central government in relation to strategic disinvestment of public sector undertakings (PSUs), according to a notification. “The Board (Sebi) may after due consideration of the interest of the investors and the securities market and for the development of the securities market, relax the strict enforcement of any of the requirements of these regulations if an application is made by the Central Government in relation to its strategic disinvestment in a listed entity,” Sebi said in a notification made public.

To give this effect, the regulator has amended LODR (Listing Obligations and disclosure Requirements) norms.

Earlier in September, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had decided to dispense with a requirement for calculating open offer price with respect to the disinvestment of PSUs.

As per Sebi norms, one of the parameters prescribed to determine the open offer price of a frequently traded scrip is Volume-Weighted Average Market Price (VWAMP) for 60 trading days immediately preceding the date of the public announcement.

The board of Sebi approved amending the takeover regulations in the context of strategic disinvestment of PSUs and consideration payable under open offer.