logo
Sebi holds outreach programme to boost municipal bond ecosystem

Sebi holds outreach programme to boost municipal bond ecosystem

The Print4 days ago
'The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) organised a Municipal Bond Outreach Programme on June 30 – July 1, 2025, at Thiruvananthapuram,' the regulator said in a statement.
The initiative was aimed at equipping urban local bodies (ULBs) and other stakeholders with insights into municipal debt securities, pool financing, and innovative market-based financing mechanisms.
New Delhi, Jul 1 (PTI) Markets regulator Sebi on Tuesday said it has conducted a two-day Municipal Bond Outreach Programme in Thiruvananthapuram to deepen market awareness and support urban infrastructure financing through municipal debt instruments.
The event covered a range of subjects, including structuring municipal bond issuances, regulatory compliance, credit rating, and continuous disclosures, Sebi said.
Interactions with intermediaries and presentations of case studies were also part of the programme to offer hands-on guidance to participants.
The regulator said the outreach programme is part of Sebi's continued efforts to promote transparency, market readiness and sustainable urban infrastructure financing through the municipal bond ecosystem.
A key highlight of the programme was the official release of 'The Green Book – On Climate Finance & Green Municipal Bonds' by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), it added.
The publication, launched by VMC's Mayor, Municipal Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, features Asia's first globally certified Green Municipal Bond issued by VMC.
The document has been showcased as a 2025 Global Case Study, aimed at guiding other ULBs in adopting sustainable financing practices.
Sebi said the publication is now accessible via a QR code and serves as a roadmap for future green bond issuances by municipal bodies. PTI HG HG BAL BAL
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

India does not enter trade deals based on deadlines: Piyush Goyal on negotiations with US
India does not enter trade deals based on deadlines: Piyush Goyal on negotiations with US

Scroll.in

time20 minutes ago

  • Scroll.in

India does not enter trade deals based on deadlines: Piyush Goyal on negotiations with US

India does not enter into trade deals based on deadlines, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday amid ongoing negotiations between India and the United States, PTI reported. 'We only agree to a trade deal when it is done properly, is completely finalised and is in the national interest,' he said while addressing reporters on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi. The minister added that India was also in talks for trade agreements with several other countries, including the European Union, New Zealand, Oman, Chile and Peru, CNBC-TV18 reported. 'Free trade agreements are only possible when both sides benefit,' Goyal said. 'It should be a win-win agreement. If a good deal can be finalised while securing Indian interests, India is always willing to enter into deals with developed countries.' As India's trade delegation returns from the US, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal emphasised, "India never negotiates trade deals with a deadline." Despite continued discussions, key differences persist, particularly over agriculture & dairy access, though both sides remain hopeful… — CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) July 4, 2025 His remarks came as India and the US were negotiating a trade deal amid the 90-day suspension of tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump that is set to end on July 9. On June 30, the White House had said that the deal was close to being finalised and would be announced soon. Commenting on Goyal's statement, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi remarked: 'Piyush Goyal can beat his chest all he wants, mark my words, Modi will meekly bow to the Trump tariff deadline.' Piyush Goyal can beat his chest all he wants, mark my words, Modi will meekly bow to the Trump tariff deadline. — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 5, 2025 Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs imposed on several countries, including a 26% 'discounted' levy on India, took effect on April 9. Hours later, however, Trump had reduced the rates on imports from most countries to 10% for 90 days to provide time for trade negotiations. The US president has repeatedly said that he intended to impose a reciprocal tax on India, among others, citing high tariffs the countries impose on foreign goods. The tariffs had led to concerns of a broader trade war that could disrupt the global economy and trigger recession. New Delhi on Friday proposed to impose retaliatory tariffs against the US under the norms of the World Trade Organization over Washington's so-called safeguard duties on automobile imports from India. India notified the international organisation's Council for Trade in Goods of its proposed suspension of concessions and other obligations under WTO provisions. This came after Washington on March 26 had decided to levy a 25% tariff, in proportion to the estimated value of the goods, on imports of passenger vehicles, light trucks and select automobile parts from India. The duties were to take effect on May 3, The Indian Express reported.

Sebi ban on Jane Street! Uday Kotak flags 3 big concerns that plague Indian stock market
Sebi ban on Jane Street! Uday Kotak flags 3 big concerns that plague Indian stock market

Mint

time23 minutes ago

  • Mint

Sebi ban on Jane Street! Uday Kotak flags 3 big concerns that plague Indian stock market

Sebi ban on Jane Street: The recent action by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the stock market regulator, against global trading firm Jane Street, has reignited a critical conversation around the Indian stock market's functioning. Billionaire banker and industry veteran, Uday Kotak, weighed in on the development, highlighting three key structural concerns: the growing influence of money power, the disparity in liquidity between index derivatives and single stocks, and the business models of exchanges and brokers being increasingly volume-driven rather than fundamentally anchored. "Recent stock market actions signify 3 aspects: money power, low liquidity in single stocks vs index derivatives, exchange, broker business models linked to volume, less to fundamentals," Kotak Mahindra Bank's founder said in a post on X on Saturday, July 4.

Sebi action on Jane Street highlights 3 aspects of market: Uday Kotak
Sebi action on Jane Street highlights 3 aspects of market: Uday Kotak

Time of India

time43 minutes ago

  • Time of India

Sebi action on Jane Street highlights 3 aspects of market: Uday Kotak

In the wake of market regulator Sebi 's sweeping crackdown on U.S. trading firm Jane Street , billionaire banker and founder of Kotak Mahindra Bank , Uday Kotak , has flagged three key concerns about the structure of India's stock markets. He cautioned against the rising dominance of money power, the widening gap between single-stock and index derivatives liquidity, and business models that prioritise volumes over fundamentals. 'Recent stock market actions signify 3 aspects: money power, low liquidity in single stocks vs. index derivatives, exchange, broker business models linked to volume, less to fundamentals. Primary role of market is to promote capital formation, fair price discovery,' Kotak posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, July 5. Recent stock market actions signify 3 aspects: money power, low liquidity in single stocks derivatives, exchange, broker business models linked to volume, less to fundamentals. Primary role of market is to promote capital formation, fair price discovery. — Uday Kotak (@udaykotak) July 5, 2025 Link to the post: Kotak's remarks come a day after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) barred Jane Street Group and four affiliated entities from India's securities market and ordered a freeze on Rs 4,840 crore in alleged unlawful gains. A crackdown on expiry-day manipulation In a 105-page interim order issued Friday, Sebi accused Jane Street of deploying high-volume, cross-segment strategies to manipulate the Nifty and Bank Nifty indices, misleading retail traders and booking massive profits from index options. The regulator said the firm generated more than Rs 36,500 crore in net profits in India between January 2023 and March 2025, of which Rs 43,289 crore came from index options alone. The order said Jane Street used a strategy called 'Intra-day Index Manipulation' on 15 of the 18 expiry days Sebi examined, which involved buying large quantities of index constituent stocks in the morning to artificially push up prices, while holding large bearish bets in the derivatives market. These trades were later reversed to drive down prices, profiting from the fall. On January 17, 2024, a day Sebi described in detail, the firm allegedly bought Rs 4,370 crore worth of Bank Nifty stocks in the morning, creating a misleading sense of strength. At the same time, it built Rs 32,114.96 crore worth of bearish options positions. By the afternoon, it reversed its cash market trades, pushing the index lower and booking Rs 734.93 crore in profit from derivatives, its biggest single-day gain in Indian markets. 'The sales are aggressive, in a manner that pushes down prices in the component stocks and hence index. JS Group books losses in intraday cash/futures market trading,' the order said. 'Profits in index options more than compensate for the JS Group's losses.' Also read | Rs 735 crore in 1 day! Jane Street's most profitable day on Dalal Street was built on Nifty Bank's fall Repeated warnings, mounting concerns Sebi said it first began reviewing Jane Street's trades in April 2024, and issued a cautionary letter in February 2025 through the National Stock Exchange (NSE), warning the firm to avoid such patterns. Despite this, 'JS Group continued with similar trades, in disregard of the caution letter from the Exchange… and JS Group's own commitments,' the regulator noted. On three other expiry days, the firm allegedly deployed an 'Extended Marking the Close' strategy, placing large sell orders in the final minutes of trading to depress index levels, thereby benefiting short-call or long put positions. Sebi wrote that the firm was 'consistently running what appeared to be by far the largest risks in 'cash equivalent' terms in F&O particularly on index option expiry days,' and that other traders were 'unaware of all this, and were hence enticed to deal at a time that the Nifty Bank itself was being artificially and temporarily propped up.' Jane Street responds Jane Street has denied any wrongdoing. 'Jane Street disputes the findings of the SEBI interim order and will further engage with the regulator,' the firm said in an emailed response to Reuters. It added that it is committed to operating in compliance with regulations globally. The company, which began its India operations in December 2020, has 21 days to respond to the Sebi order or challenge it before the Securities Appellate Tribunal. As of Friday, four Jane Street-linked entities — JSI Investments Pvt Ltd, JSI2 Investments Pvt Ltd, Jane Street Singapore Pte Ltd, and Jane Street Asia Trading Ltd — have been prohibited from buying, selling, or dealing in Indian securities, and their accounts have been placed under a debit freeze. How Sebi's crackdown on Jane Street unfolded: A 15-month trail of scrutiny and ignored warnings Kotak's post echoes broader concerns raised by Sebi in its investigation: that the market has tilted too far in favour of high-frequency, algorithmic strategies, while retail investors trade on distorted signals. The regulator pointed to a growing imbalance, where foreign and proprietary traders made over Rs 610 billion in FY24 through such strategies, nearly matching the losses absorbed by retail participants.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store