IPOs worth Rs 15,000 cr coming soon, govt divestment to excite market: SEBI Chairman Ajay Tyagi

There are 10-11 IPOs worth Rs 15,000 crore coming soon, according to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEB) Chairman Ajay Tyagi.

After the Infrastructure Leasing & Finance Services (IL&FS) episode, the international and the domestic market volatility hurt the IPO sentiment, Tyagi said.

There are no regulatory hurdles in the IPO market, which was slow in the first half of 2019 but is picking up again in the second, he added. According to the SEBI chief, divestment from the government is going to excite the primary market even further.

“We are open to more suggestions to remove hurdles in raising money through IPO,” Tyagi said while speaking to economists at the Association of Investment Bankers of India event.

“We have already reduced fee for companies if the post approval timeline lapses and companies re-apply for IPO.”

As per Tyagi, SEBI is not against auditors as it considers audit firms as ‘important gatekeepers’.

"If audit firms audit listed companies, based on which investors are investing, we are well within our rights to take action against them," he said.

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"If audit works have not been done properly. you cannot continue to audit listed companies."

Tyagi has, however, refused to accept that auditors are simply referred to the disciplinary committee.

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“ The matter is subjudice, SAT has transferred a few cases to us. We are investigating the matter,” the SEBI chairman said while speaking on banks’ argument that they are paying for regulator sins.