Sebi Gives Nod to Establishing REITs
Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Sunday approved setting up of real estate investment trusts (REITs), a move that may offer a new source of financing to the country's cash-strapped property developers.
REITs are listed entities that mainly invest in income-producing real estate assets, the earnings of which are mostly distributed to their shareholders. They generally get special tax treatment.
At its board meeting in New Delhi, the capital market regulator said REITs should operate with an asset pool of at least Rs 500 crore ($81.78 million; 1 dollar = 61.1400 rupees) and have an initial issue size of at least Rs 250 crore for shareholders.
REITs will be allowed to invest only in commercial properties, Sebi said.
The regulator also approved allowing infrastructure investment trusts - a REIT-like structure that would allow developers to monetize their infrastructure assets through a stock exchange listing.
Sebi had announced plans to introduce REITs last October, but the plan was delayed amid uncertainty about the taxation structure for the new instrument.
In his Budget address last month, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley cleared the way for REITs and infrastructure trusts by announcing tax benefits for both.
Separately, the regulator said it will simplify registration for stock brokers and clearing members, allowing them to obtain a unified registration for doing business in all the stock exchanges and depositories in the country.
Copyright @ Thomson Reuters 2014
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
-
AI Bias In Investing Cannot Be Eliminated, But It Can Be Governed
Framing is a particularly important example as identical financial information presented in terms of gains rather than losses can lead an LLM to reach a different assessment.
