Market Regulator, The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has constituted an expert committee to look into the existing Institutional Trading Platform framework (ITP) to suggest measures that could facilitate the listing of startups.
At the same time, SEBI is also examining the possibility of allowing unlisted Indian companies to directly list equity overseas while also allowing foreign companies to list directly on the Indian bourses.
In its official statement, SEBI was quoted saying,
Considering the evolution and internationalisation of the capital markets, it would be worthwhile to consider facilitating companies incorporated in India to directly list their equity share capital abroad and vice versa.
The nine-member panel board will include representatives from the Indian Software Product Industry Round Table (iSPITR), Venture Capital Association (IVCA), law firms, merchant bankers and stock exchanges. The group will be submitting the report within one month as informed by SEBI.
Notably, the regulator had introduced the ITP framework in 2015 with an objective to facilitate startup listing of new age companies involved in data analytics, IT, intellectual property, biotechnology and nano-technology activities.
Interestingly, this is not the first time SEBI has come with a panel to boost startup listing. Back in 2016 too, it had proposed a series of changes that allowed family offices and hedge fund to invest in startup public offerings.