Minimum Public Float
stipulation, 190 companies still don’t care SEBI;
The information was provided by Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot in Lok
Sabha in a written reply of a question asked to him.According to Sebi, companies could meet the norms by many routes including Offer for Sale, Institutional Placement Programme, bonus and rights issues to public shareholders.In a circular issued in August 2012, the market regulator had said that companies seeking to achieve MPS by ways, other than prescribed, could approach it.
The answer also noted that It is also mentioned in the circular that listed entities desirous of seeking any relaxation from the available methods may approach Sebi with appropriate details. So we can confer that there will be more extensions to many companies in specific or another extension to deadline in general for the MPS stipulatin.
The SEBI stretched the minimum public
float requirement for listed firms one year in 2012 for their convenience till
June 2013. But it looks after two years of extension of limit, still many
companies don’t care about it.
As on December, 2012 at total of 190
companies, including 14 PSUs, are yet to meet this minimum prescribed public
shareholding norms. As on that date these stake was worth Rs.30,000 crore. Sebi has also initiated consultations with
non-compliant companies to resolve all outstanding issues for ensuring
adherence to this requirement. But it is highly contemptuous as the
market condition of debt as well as equity does not seem to be very good for a
fund raising or stake dilution even environment.
