SEBI board, in its meeting yesterday, made it mandatory for the promoters (including promoter group) to disclose the details of pledged shares held by them in listed companies. SEBI has made event-based disclosure mandatory in this regard, meaning that the promoters would have to disclose the details of the pledged shares as and when they are pledged.
The promoters would also have to make disclosures on periodic basis, i.e. at the time of quarterly results.
The promoters would now have to make such disclosures to the company and the company would in turn inform the same to the public through the stock exchanges. SEBI will also prescribe the limits for such pledging of shares. The new rule will come into effect once the market regulator modifies existing guidelines to incorporate the new clause on pledged shares.
Promoters of listed firms often pledge their equity shares without disclosing, to raise personal loans. This not only heightens investment risk in Indian stocks but can also lead to potential takeover situations.
B Ramalinga Raju, founder of Satyam computer Services, who admitted to have committed fraud of Rs 7,136 crore, had also pledged all his equity with private lenders to raise cash.
