SEBI to cut time between IPO close and listing

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New Delhi: In an attempt to lessen scope for price manipulation, the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) plans to reduce the time between the close of initial public offerings (IPOs) and their listing, said the new Chairman C B Bhave. As the board would soon consider proposals by a committee on this issue, institutional investors may have to pay a higher amount of commitment money than the current 10 percent, he said, while speaking to reporters following his first board meeting after taking charge. The SEBI board also slashed fees for stock market intermediaries on filing offer documents for public issues, rights issues and mutual funds by 80 percent. The new fee structure will come into effect from April 1, 2008, benefiting small investors investing in mutual funds. Meanwhile, the regulator also constituted a committee comprising independent board members to take forward investigations into an IPO scam in 2006 that saw manipulators opening thousands of demat accounts to corner share allotments. National Securities Depositories (NSDL), which Bhave headed previously, was criticized by SEBI for inadequate vigilance. A SEBI release said the committee would seek advice from Maharashtra Advocate General Ravi Kadam. The board also approved a proposal to allow members of the Madras Stock Exchange to trade on the National Stock Exchange platform, subject to adequate safeguards, said Bhave.