A decision on how to ring-fence C B Bhave, the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, from the regulator's probe into the initial public offerings demat account opening scam will top the agenda for the Sebi's board meeting, in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Importantly, Finance Minister P Chidambaram will attend the board meeting, which is also Bhave's first board meeting since he took up reins at the Sebi last month.
Allowing asset management companies to launch real estate mutual funds (REMFs), simplification of offer documents for mutual fund new fund offers and debt issuances are the other three important points that will be discussed tomorrow.
Two of its wholetime members, G Anantharaman and V K Chopra, are also retiring tomorrow, after the board meeting, said sources.
Ring-fencing of the IPO probe becomes important as a Sebi probe into the scam named the National Securities Depository (NSDL) as not careful enough to check the fictitious demat account opening by manipulators to corner share allotments during IPOs. Bhave was the chairman of NSDL at that time.
Bhave, before taking up the chairman's post, had asked the government to keep him out of the ongoing IPO scam.
The Sebi probe had resulted in a disgorgement order against the depositories -- NSDL and Central Depository Services (CDSL) -- which was later quashed by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT).
Sources explained that ring-fencing refers to continuing of the independent probe into the demat scam as Bhave was the chairman of NSDL during Sebi's investigation.
