Asked what steps government could take to prevent companies from fixing arbitrarily IPO price band at a very high level, Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told PTI, “We are examining it. This is a matter in which we are in close consultation with Sebi... It will take 3-4 months, may be six months to come out with the guidelines.” Further, he said that the ministry is looking at how there can be greater objectivity and transparency. Pointing out that misuse of money collected through IPOs was within the purview of the ministry, he said “that is something we are very careful about and keeping ourselves very alert... Early Warning System will watch the misuse of IPO money.” Currently, the final price of IPO is arrived after a book-building process, the base for the same is the price band that is announced by the firms before the start of the public issue bidding process.
Published 02 October 2009, 15:26 IST