SEBI Chief TK Pandey urges institutional investments in infra sector
States that diverse pool of participants will help improve liquidity in securities
Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has urged that the investor base in infrastructure must be widened by bringing in mutual funds (MFs), pension funds, and retail players.
Pandey said, “Our investor base is still narrow. Institutional investors dominate, while retail and foreign investors are cautious. Thin secondary market trading means liquidity is limited, which further discourages participation.”
While speaking at the NaBFID Annual Infrastructure Conclave in Mumbai, he stressed speeding up asset monetisation in roads, railways, ports, airports, energy, petroleum and gas, and logistics.
Referring to real estate and infrastructure investment trusts, the chief added, “State governments, barring a few, are yet to crystalise asset monetisation plans to provide further boost to infrastructure creation. This gap needs to be addressed. A variety of products and models exist for such monetisation such as InvITs, REITs, various forms of public private partnerships, and securitization.”
He pointed out that funds raised through municipal bonds, REITs, and InvITs had increased but were small compared to the trillions of rupee required for India’s development.