UK Sinha bids farewell: Not shy to say SEBI has been harsh

Moneycontrol NewsBidding farewell after seven years as chief of the country's market regulator, UK Sinha said on Monday that he was not shy of admitting that the Securities and Exchange Board of India had been harsh during his tenure while "cleansing the market".In his last press briefing before handing over the SEBI reins to Ajay Tyagi on March 1, Sinha said his team had ensured swift action on violations and said he was demitting office with the capital markets in order.Transparency was the theme of the press conference, as Sinha spoke about strengthening the arbitration mechanism for the sake of investors."We believe that everyone should get uniform treatment and there should be competition too," Sinha said, adding that Foreign Portfolio Investors had been put at ease.While Sinha said that he would carry fond memories from his term, he admitted his one significant regret was that no Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) had been launched on his watch.ALSO READ: Hits and misses of outgoing SEBI Chairman UK Sinha

Sinha said that he expected the first InvIT to be launched in the next two months.Sinha's tenure has been marked by big orders against companies like Satyam Computer Services and a war against the Sahara Group over fund raising through wrongful sale of securities. During his regime, SEBI strengthened financial markets regulations, putting in place stronger rules to curb insider trading. In addition, hallmark changes in the rules for listing and delisting companies were made, besides bids to spruce up corporate governance at listed companies.