In a virtual meeting with SEBI Chairman Ajay Tyagi on Wednesday, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sought speeding up of direct listing rules among other things.

Direct listing is a term for allowing Indian companies to trade on an overseas bourse even if they are not available for trading in India. The government has allowed such a scheme but SEBI is yet to form the final norms.

The idea came from a SEBI committee meeting in 2018. However, there has been a persistent worry about shifting of trading volumes in Indian markets to other jurisdictions. But it would remain to be seen how direct listing benefits India, experts said.

“The participants emphasised the need for early finalisation of direct listing proposal; development of the corporate bond market; reforms in the IPO regulations; digitisation of processes; and showed interest in participating in innovative ideas under SEBI’s regulatory sandbox framework. Various queries raised during the meetings on multiple issues were clarified,” SEBI said in a release.

Tyagi’s interaction was organised by the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).

Considering that the largest number of FPIs & about one third of the total assets under custody of FPIs are from the US, the importance of US investments into India was emphasised especially taking into account the growing partnership between the two countries, SEBI said.

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