(Reuters) -India markets regulator is considering widening liquid mutual fund options for Real Estate Investment Trusts and Infrastructure Investment Trusts to boost their participation, its chairperson said in a speech.
“We are examining a proposal to expand the pool of liquid mutual fund schemes, in which REITs and InvITs can invest, while safeguarding investor interests,” Tuhin Kanta Pandey, chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India said.
SEBI will also facilitate inclusion of REITs in indices, Pandey said, according to the speech on the regulator’s website dated Friday.
The development comes months after the regulator proposed allowing foreign investors and qualified institutional buyers to participate as strategic investors in the trusts, aimed at boosting capital inflows in the sectors.
SEBI is working with Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority and Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation for the recent development, to facilitate greater participation.
“We are also exploring whether private InvITs too may invest in greenfield projects, with adequate safeguards,” Pandey said, according to the speech on the regulator’s website.
(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Wditing by Nivedita Bhattcharjee )
