Sebi is focused on speeding up IPO approvals and making compliance as easy as breathing: Madhabi Puri Buch

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is focus on expediting approvals for companies looking to go public, particularly in light of the maturity that the fintech industry has reached, said Sebi Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, at the Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai.

"If the fintech industry has reached a certain level of maturity, and now they want IPO, the private equity investors want to exit, [and] the markets are good," Buch noted, adding, "This is the time when we should not be wasting time in giving approvals."

To achieve this, Sebi has been closely monitoring the ageing and tendency of IPO applications, maintaining strict oversight to ensure minimal delay. Buch said that fewer and fewer IPO applicants have had to wait more than three month for approvals.

She also clarified that the few pending cases are primarily due to “either a judicial intervention or there is a regulatory approval pending from another fellow regulator.”

Use of technology to accelerate approvals

Sebi is not just focusing on monitoring, it is also leveraging technology to enhance efficiency, Buch said. She pointed out the introduction of nearly a dozen AI-driven projects, half of which are designed to speed up the approval process.

The regulator is hoping to accelerate the process further, because "we will now actively use AI within Sebi itself," she stated.

Use of artificial intelligence is expected to further reduce the time it takes for IPO applications to be processed, ensuring that market participants are not left "wanting and waiting for approvals when there is so much opportunity in the market."

According to Buch, the goal is to have a seamless process that reflects the fast pace of market dynamics and the increasing readiness of companies, particularly in the fintech space, to go public.

Commitment to ease of compliance

Sebi's efforts extend beyond speeding up the approval process. Buch emphasised that Sebi is also making compliance as easy as "breathing" for businesses by restructuring its organisation and optimising processes.

For example, the regulator is now tracking IPO applications from the date of the first application, rather than the last date of receipt of all information, which eliminates potential delays caused by bureaucratic loopholes.

Sebi has set up 16 working groups focused on ease of doing business; a substantial portion of their recommendations are already accepted and implemented.

"We want feedback from the ecosystem to say how and what will make your life easier, so that you can focus on the business and deliver to the country rather than being caught up in compliance," Buch explained.

Sebi's initiatives are part of a broader strategy to enhance trust and transparency in India’s capital markets. By simplifying the IPO process and making compliance more manageable, it aims to foster a robust financial ecosystem where innovation can thrive and businesses can access the capital they need to grow.

Buch concluded, "Compliance should simply be a low hum which goes on in the background. The real capability of our entrepreneurs, of our industrialists, of our entire economy, is really focused on growing the country."