The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has granted a debt broker license to GoldenPi Technologies, a Bengaluru (Karnataka)-based fintech company backed by Indian financial services provider Zerodha Broking Ltd.
- With this, GoldenPi Technologies became the first online bond platform (OBP) provider to obtain a debt brokerage licence from SEBI.
- The licence is expected to boost investor trust in the online bond and debenture investment space.
Backdrop
In November 2022, SEBI introduced regulations to streamline the operations of online bond platforms (OBPs) and to enhance investor participation in the bond market.
- It added that no company or individual shall function as an OBP provider without having a certificate of registration as a stock broker under the SEBI Regulations, 2021.
GoldenPi Technologies
i.GoldenPi Technologies, founded in 2017, is a Zerodha-backed online marketplace to invest in Bonds & Debentures.
- The objective of GoldenPi’s online platform is to make bonds available to all retail investors.
ii.The company currently provides daily listings of more than 100 bonds and debentures on its online platform.
iii.Its platform has more than 3.7 lakh active users who invest in corporate bonds, Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs), Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), and other fixed-income assets.
iv.Abhijit Roy is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)& Co-Founder of GoldenPi Technologies.
SEBI Extends Relaxation On Dispatching Hard Copies of Financial Statements
On January 5, 2022, SEBI relaxed certain provisions of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (Listing Regulations) relating to the dispatch of a hard copy of the annual report (financial statements) due in the year 2023 to debenture holders till September 30, 2023, which shall take effect immediately. The earlier extension lasted until December 31, 2022.
- In May 2020, SEBI relaxed the requirements specified in regulation 36(1)(b) of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (“LODR Regulations”) till December 2021 and subsequently extended upto December 2022.
It has been decided to relax the requirements of Regulation 58 (1)(b) of the Listing Regulations which prescribes that an entity with listed non-convertible securities shall send a hard copy of a statement containing the salient features of all the documents, as specified in Section 136 of Companies Act, 2013
Click here for official notification.
Backdrop
i.SEBI has received proposals from listed entities requesting extensions to the existing relaxations.
ii.The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) also offered similar relaxations in December 2022 to companies dispatching physical copies of financial statements to shareholders for the annual general meeting (AGM) held until September 30, 2023.
Key Points:
i.The Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) rules mandate listed companies to dispatch a physical copy of the statement including key features of all documents—financial statements, board of directors report, auditor’s report—to shareholders who have not registered their email addresses.
- The listed companies must send hard copies of their full annual reports to shareholders who request them.
ii.The provisions should be published on the websites of the stock exchanges and brought to the attention of all entities with listed non-convertible securities (NCS).
Recent Related News:
i.In November 2022, SEBI revised the framework for approving changes in control of stock brokers which will be effective from December 1, 2022, to streamline the process of providing approval to the proposed change in control of the entities.
ii.This information by SEBI is provided in exercise of its powers conferred under section 11(1) of the SEBI Act, 1992, to protect the interests of investors, and to promote the development of the securities market.
About the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI):
Chairperson– Madhabi Puri Buch
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Establishment– 1992
