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Sebi imposes restrictions on Haryana Financial Corp

Market watchdog Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Monday restricted public sector company Haryana Financial Corp from offering corporate benefits to non-public investors and barred its directors from holding any new position in a listed company after failing to comply with minimum public shareholding norms.

As per Sebi's norms, listed public sector entities were required to have at least 10 per cent public holding by August 8. At present, promoters of Haryana Financial hold a 99.36 per cent stake.

The regulator in its order on Monday directed the firm and its board to "not offer or pass on corporate benefits like dividends, rights, bonus shares, share split etc. to non-public shareholders with respect to their excess proportionate shareholding".

The board of directors "are restrained from holding any new position as a director in any listed company", it said. Sebi said the curbs will continue until the company complies with the minimum public shareholding norm, which it has been asked to meet "at the earliest".

Sebi will levy a monetary penalty and initiate criminal proceedings, among others, if the company fails to comply. It asked the board/audit committee of the firm to submit a quarterly compliance report to the stock exchange where it is listed.

The promoters of Haryana Financial hold an aggregate of 99.36 per cent stake, with the Governor of Haryana and the Small Industries Development Bank of India holding 97.28 per cent and 2.08 per cent, respectively, Sebi noted.

"The public shareholding is at a very minuscule percentage of 0.64 per cent," it said.

Haryana Financial has asked Sebi for exemption from meeting the norms and said it had prepared a plan to wind up.

Sebi observed that as long as the company is listed on an exchange, it is statutorily bound to comply with the norms.