‘New system will be created on conflict of interest, FPI rules will be easy’, SEBI chief announces amid market decline
New Delhi| Tuhin Kant Pandey, the new chairman of capital markets regulator SEBI, said on Friday that he will come up with a system under which SEBI board members will have to inform the public about conflicts of interest. Pandey, who took charge as chairman of SEBI on March 1, addressed his first public event, saying that it is necessary to take this step for transparency. This will help the market regulator gain ecosystem confidence. During this period, the SEBI chief has also talked about simplifying the rules for foreign investors.
Last year, allegations were made against former SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch
Last year, US-based short seller Hindenburg Research had leveled allegations against Pandey’s predecessor Madhabi Puri Buch related to possible conflict of interest based on whistleblower documents. The allegations included information about his (Butch’s) personal investment in an offshore fund, in which an Adani Group associate company, which was being investigated by SEBI, was a co-investor.
In response, SEBI had said that Butch had made “necessary disclosures” and had recused himself from it if necessary and the allegations against Adani Group were duly investigated. “I think we need to be more transparent on various other measures, for example, in cases like the board’s conflicts of interest” “We will come forward with our plan, so that cases of conflict of interest etc. can be put before the public in a more transparent manner”, the new SEBI chief said
Flexibility is necessary to maintain the pace of growth in the economy
“As we face global challenges due to geo-economic fragmentation, tariff issues and increased uncertainties, we need to increase our resilience and strength to sustain our growth”, Pandey said He said high levels of sustainable growth, low current account deficit, low external public debt, healthy bank balance sheets, fiscal consolidation roadmap, continued emphasis on government capital expenditure and infrastructure and foreign exchange reserves buffer, India’s resilience against external shocks. There are some major pillars of support for. He also promised that SEBI is ready to reconsider unnecessary and outdated rules which are not serving any purpose.
