Making Indian capital markets an easier place to invest, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) today relaxed the registration and disclosure norms for low-risk foreign investors and exempted low-risk overseas entities from tedious paper work.
The SEBI also classified foreign investors eligible to make portfolio investments in the country under three broad segments as per their risk profile, while putting the government and other sovereign entities in the lowest-risk Category I.
Well-regulated entities like mutual funds, insurers, investment trusts, banks, university funds and pension funds have been put in the medium-risk Category II, while others such as corporate bodies, individuals and family offices have been classified in the Category III.
Accordingly, the Know Your Client (KYC) requirements — which entail submission of various documents and disclosures to get registered and operate in Indian markets — would be eased for those with low-risk profile.
Given their lowest risk profile, Category I investors have been exempted from submission of documents like financial statements and board resolution papers, while their top management, partners, directors, trustees and authorised signatories would not be required to submit proof of identity, proof of address and photographs.
Besides, such entities would also be exempted from submission of the list, identity proof, address proof and photographs for their ultimate beneficial owners, the SEBI said in a late evening circular.
These measures come at a time when concerns are being raised about outflows of foreign capital and weakening of the rupee against the dollar and other foreign currencies.
The new norms are expected to make it much easier for the foreign investors to enter the country and make investment decisions.
The SEBI’s decision to reclassify foreign investors as per their risk profiles follows recommendations made by a committee headed by former Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar in this regard.
The proposals were approved by SEBI in its board meeting in June and thereafter the regulator had referred the recommendations to the Government of India for implementation.
The SEBI is merging different classes of investors such as FIIs, their Sub Accounts and Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) into a new category, FPIs, to put in place a simplified and uniform set of entry norms for them.
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