Market regulator SEBI is close to firming up a new mechanism that would allow listed companies to issue newer securities faster.

Once this facility of ‘Annual Information Memorandum’ is put in place, corporates won't need to end up filing prospectus every time they issue securities. It would help companies do further fund raising without even taking merchant bankers' assistance.

For investors, the Annual Information Memorandum will ensure that all information about a particular company up to a particular period is available at one place, according to Prasanta Mahapatra, General Manager, Corporate Finance Department, SEBI. “Today, if I want to know some information about a company, I will have to look at multiple websites and places. Not all information is available at one place. The new concept of Annual Information Memorandum is expected to tackle that situation,” Mahapatra said. Mahapatra was here for a seminar on securities laws organised by the Company Secretaries Institute.

In final stage

“We are working on this (Annual Information Memorandum). Right now, it is relatively in final stage,” he said.

Indications are that SEBI would usher in the concept of 'Annual Information Memorandum' through an amendment to the ‘Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirement’ regulations, which came into effect from December 1, 2015.

In developed markets like US, this concept is already prevalent with issuers of securities allowed to file shelf prospectus.

Ashishkumar Chauhan, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Bombay Stock Exchange, said the annual submission of information to stock exchanges is going to be a welcome move.

“It will be good for investors and also corporates. It's almost like giving details of your prospectus every year and updated with all material developments up to a particular period. Everyone gets to know things on par,” Chauhan told BusinessLine .

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