Sebi's Swachata Abhiyan

Sebi's Swachata Abhiyan

SEBI plans to delist more than 4,000 listed companies whose shares aren’t actively traded, as it tightens supervision of Asia’s fourth-largest stock market.

The clean up includes 1,200 companies whose shares have been suspended from trading on the BSE Ltd. and the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. for the past seven years, U.K. Sinha, chairman of the Securities & Exchange Board of India, said in Mumbai. The 3,000 companies listed on the defunct regional bourses would also face the axe, he said.

“Having a large number of listed companies is a source of nuisance,” Sinha said. “They were being used to manipulate markets and avoid taxes. Cleaning up is a focus area this year.”

SEBI, in a bid to weed out illiquid stocks, in January allowed owners of small companies, where trading had been less than 10 percent of the total shares in the previous 12 months, to take them private. While more than 5,400 companies are listed on the BSE, the top 500 make up 95 percent of the total market value, according to the exchange’s website.

Founders of the companies marked for delisting will be required to make exit offers to shareholders, while those willing to resume trading on the BSE and NSE would be allowed after meeting regulatory requirements, Sinha said. Those who don’t comply “will face the music,” he said.

“Sebi is a substantially empowered regulator and law allows us to take action against them,” Sinha said.

(🚫 *So* sell the *shares in illiquid* shares *before it is delisted* 🚫 .)

*Big warning* for all before the action starts *confirm the above at your end too, this would *save your capital* n get in thousands or lacs in your accounts immediately for deployment somewhere else.