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Informist, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026

 

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--SEBI chief: Govt expenditure to play important role in infra development
--CONTEXT: SEBI Chairman Tuhin Pandey's comments in NaBFID infra conclave
--SEBI chief: Building infra requires large, scalable, patient capital
--SEBI chief: Capital in infra assets with stable cash flow can be unlocked
--SEBI chief:Deeper corp bond mkt to provide access to fund for infra assets
--SEBI chief: Alternate Infra funds emerging as important source of capital
--SEBI chief: Investor understanding must accompany easier access for debt
--SEBI chief: InvITs can help infra capital become more recyclable
--SEBI chief: Relaxed norms for AIFs to channel patient capital for infra
--SEBI chief: Municipal bonds still at nascent stage but progress visible
--SEBI chief: Municipal bonds can connect urban infra needs with capital
--SEBI chief: Secondary mkt can aid fund reach right assets with safeguards
--SEBI chief: Need more participation, secondary mkt liquidity for corp bonds
--SEBI chief: Repaying capacity a constraint for municipal bond mkt growth

 

MUMBAI – The securities market can become more than a financing channel and be a continuous capital engine for infrastructure financing, Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said Thursday at an infrastructure conclave organised by the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development here. For this to happen, the market should be able to not just mobilise capital and provide the right form of capital for the right type of infrastructure assets, but also enable unlocking of capital from mature infrastructure assets that can then be deployed again into the next generation of infrastructure, Pandey said.

 

Even as government expenditure plays an important role in infrastructure development in the country, building infrastructure requires large, scalable, patient long-term capital, according to Pandey. Apart from bank financing, the securities market offers a bouquet of options for infrastructure financing needs in the form of corporate bond issuances, investments by alternative investment funds, and issuance of infrastructure investment trusts, the SEBI chief said.

 

The securities market can help capital reach the right infrastructure assets with the right regulatory safeguards, according to Pandey. Further, sound investor understanding must accompany easier access to debt from the securities market, he said.

 

A deeper corporate bond market is a must for enabling infrastructure financing, and for a thriving market, wider investor participation and secondary market liquidity are needed, according to Pandey said. Alternative investment funds are also emerging as an important source of capital for infrastructure financing, he said. SEBI has recently relaxed norms for such funds in order for their long-term investments to be channelled for infrastructure financing, Pandey said. The capital in infrastructure assets with stable cash flows can be unlocked through infrastructure investment trusts, the SEBI chief said. This instrument can help infrastructure capital become more recyclable, he said. 

 

For urban infrastructure financing, Pandey said municipal bonds can provide the right capital. These bonds are still at a nascent stage, but progress is visible, he said. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the event, the SEBI chief said some limitations hinder the growth of the municipal bond market with its capacity to repay a key one.

 

On the sidelines, Pandey also said the market regulator is looking into the issues concerning rise in costs for brokers emanating from the 0.4% merchant discount rate on merchant payments above INR 2,000 through the Unified Payments Interface. Zerodha Broking Ltd. had Wednesday said one of the cost challenges was from SEBI's regulations requiring brokers to send unused funds back to clients every month or quarter. "Most customers then transfer these funds back to their broking accounts, with more than half of these transfers happening through UPI. So regulation essentially forces this movement of money every month or quarter, and the broker could end up bearing the cost when the money comes back, without any incremental benefit or revenue," Nithin Kamath, Zerodha Broking's founder and managing director, had said in a social media post Wednesday.  End

 

Reported by Rajesh Gajra and Kabir Sharma

Edited by Shubhayan Bhattacharya

 

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