SEBI opens door for wider participation in REITs, InvITs

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has streamlined the process for listing real estate investment trusts (REITs) and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) by allowing alternative investment funds (AIFs) and other affiliates of merchant bankers to participate in the anchor allotment of such public offerings. The latest amendments allow wider participation from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) – barring Category-III FPIs – and AIFs to subscribe to the anchor allotments, besides giving time flexibility to issuers for pricing. SEBI has allowed REITs and InvITs to announce their price bands two days before the launch of the issue as compared with the earlier requirement of notifying the price band at least five days in advance. SEBI also made the use of applications supported by blocked amount facility mandatory when participating in REITs and InvITs, in line with norms for subscribing to shares in an initial public offering (IPO).