Rules on 25% fund-raising via corporate bonds by Sept: Sebi

Expecting a big boost to the corporate bonds market going forward, Sebi Chairman Ajay Tyagi today said the rules for mandatory 25 per cent fund-raising by listed companies through this route would be out by September.

Talking to reporters after an address by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to Sebi's board members and top officials, Tyagi also said that small investors need not panic by market falls as they are doing the right thing by investing through mutual funds, though this route cannot be as risk-free as bank deposits.

He said the volatility in Indian markets may continue for some time due to global reasons, but there are no issues of concern for investors in terms of safety and security of the Indian marketplace.

In the wake of concerns raised in some quarters about the re-introduction of long-term capital gains tax (LTCG), as proposed in the Budget, Tyagi said Sebi has not received any representation from investors so far against this.

He, however, said it will be wrong to say long-term capital gains tax will have no impact at all on Indian markets but any impact would be small and the global factors pose bigger risks.

At the same time, he exuded confidence that the Indian markets have been doing well in terms of number of IPOs and the investors investing in a big way through mutual funds, adding that these positive trends should continue.

"Sebi will soon come out with norms on corporate bonds to encourage companies to tap this route for raising funds. The government proposal to mandate listed firms to raise 25 per cent funds via corporate bonds is a good step and Sebi will come out with detailed rules by September in this regard," Tyagi said.

On crypto-currency, he said the finance minister has already made it clear that these are not legal tenders in India and a committee is already looking into the whole issue. He said the recommendations of the committee should come out soon and then it would be known what role Sebi has to play.

On the long-pending Kotak committee proposals for overhaul of corporate governance rules, Tyagi said Sebi has already got the public feedback on the proposals and the final norms should be placed for consideration in the next board meeting of the regulatory body.