Sebi set to revamp IPO norms
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is set to revamp initial public offering (IPO) norms to make them less onerous for legitimate sellers while clamping down on possible misuse. These include recognizing a wider set of institutional investors such as alternative investment funds (AIFs) as counting toward promoters’ contribution in startups, requiring financial disclosures for three years rather than five and reducing disclosure of the price band to two days before the issue opens from five now.
Govt puts off debt-laden Air India stake sale, to revive loan recast plan
The government has indefinitely put off the sale of state-owned airline Air India as it believes there wouldn’t be takers ahead of the 2019 general elections. The attempt will now be to recast the debt burden of the airline by hiving off a portion of the debt into a separate subsidiary. Sources aware of the development said the call to defer the disinvestment process was taken at a meeting of the group of ministers Monday night. The decision came after the transaction advisor suggested that the political environment was not conducive for a sale of Air India’s magnitude.
AAR ruling fuels fears of double GST on goods imported on CIF basis
An order by the Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) has sparked fears of double taxation under the goods and services tax (GST) for goods imported on the basis of cost, insurance and freight (CIF). The AAR, Uttarakhand, has ruled that the importer will have to pay the integrated GST (IGST) on CIF value and also on the ocean freight component. The issue before the AAR was whether the importer will have to pay the IGST on freight value, on the reverse charge mechanism (RCM), when the service provider and service recipient are outside India.
Housing boost: RBI raises home loan limits under priority sector lending
In a boost to affordable housing under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday raised the housing loan limits under priority sector lending (PSL) for economically weaker sections and lower income groups. Analysts said the RBI move, in convergence with the government’s schemes for affordable housing, will help aspiring home buyers, as with the raised PSL limit, banks will tend to lend more for low-cost housing. Home loans up to Rs 35 lakh in metros (with population of 10 lakh and above) will now qualify for the benefits of priority sector lending, against up to Rs 28 lakh earlier.
PSBs team up to bolster consortium lending
In an initiative that is expected to iron out problems faced in consortium lending, public sector banks (PSBs) have agreed to enter into an “inter-creditor” arrangement that would set the ground rules for lending. Besides, it will also cover lending under multiple banking arrangements. This will help banks work as a team and remove procedural glitches so that timely credit is available to enterprises; Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal told the media on Tuesday after chairing a meeting with chief executives of the PSBs of North and East India.
About the Author
