SEBI mulls up to 50% SME IPO shares for institutions
SEBI is looking to shake up the rules for small and medium enterprise (SME) IPOs, aiming to get more big investors on board.
Right now, SMEs with up to ₹100 crore in paid-up capital have it easier when listing, but SEBI's new plan would consider reserving up to 50% of the shares in these IPOs for institutional investors, with 35% for retail buyers and 15% for others.
SEBI seeks 3-year ₹3cr SME profit
SEBI also wants stricter entry requirements: companies may soon need an average profit of ₹3 crore over three years (higher than the current threshold of ₹1,000 crore in at least two of the past three years), plus a bigger post-issue market cap.
There's talk of letting early shareholders sell sooner too, cutting their lock-in period from one year to six months.
All these tweaks are meant to tighten oversight and make SME investing safer and more transparent.