Image credit source: (Getty Images/Instagram/dhaval.buch)
Companies listed on stock exchanges will no longer have to provide any disclosure information or documents to different exchanges. The information provided on any exchange will be automatically uploaded. This step was taken after SEBI recently proposed comprehensive changes in the disclosure and listing requirements of listed companies. Apart from this, amid the Hindenburg controversy, the SEBI chief has also said something important about real estate investment trusts.
What did he say about REIT?
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman Madhabi Puri Buch on Monday declined to comment on Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), saying that if she said anything on the issue, she would be accused of conflict of interest.
Buch said this at a time when US-based investment and research firm Hindenburg in one of its reports raised concerns about a possible conflict of interest between him and private equity firm Blackstone. Her husband Dhaval Butch is a senior advisor to Blackstone, a leading REIT firm. However, the couple denied the allegations. Moreover, Hindenburg had alleged that SEBI’s recent amendments to the REIT Regulations 2014 have benefited a specific financial group. SEBI has rejected these allegations.
He did not give any statement
SEBI chief Buch said at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event on Monday that if I say a single word about REITs, I will be accused of conflict of interest. REITs are a new concept in the Indian market. They have been a popular choice globally due to their attractive returns and capital appreciation. REITs are made up of blocks of commercial real estate assets, most of which are already leased.
Meanwhile, Congress on Monday levelled fresh allegations of conflict of interest against Buch, alleging that despite being a full-time member of the market regulator, he was receiving a regular salary from ICICI Congress’s head of media and publicity department Pawan Kheda Said. It was reported at a press conference here that Buch was a permanent member of SEBI from April 5, 2017, to October 4, 2021, and is its chairman since March 2, 2022.
He said Madhabi Puri Buch, as a whole-time member of SEBI, was drawing regular salary from ICICI Bank, which amounts to Rs 16.80 crore. He also took TDS from ICICI Prudential, ESOPs and ESOPs from the bank, but he is yet to comment on the allegations made by the Congress.
