India

Fox Mandal | English | AcademicThink | Nov. 19, 2025 | Regulation

SEBI has introduced two key proposals aimed at enhancing ease of doing business and strengthening investor protection. The first focuses on the lock-in of pledged pre-issue shares. Currently, non-promoter pre-issue shares locked in for six months cannot have their lock-in status effectively enforced when shares are pledged, leading to legal uncertainty. SEBI proposes aligning the treatment of pledged non-promoter shares with promoter-pledged securities by mandating issuers to amend their Articles of Association (AoA) before IPO approval to deem such shares as locked-in. Shares transferred upon pledge invocation or release will remain locked in for the remaining period, or be marked as non-transferable by depositories. Lenders must be notified throughout this process, and enhanced disclosure requirements will apply in the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) and Red Herring Prospectus (RHP).

The second proposal replaces the abridged prospectus with an Offer Document Summary as the primary retail disclosure document. Due to limited retail investor engagement with existing disclosures, SEBI aims to streamline and improve information accessibility by enhancing disclosures in the Offer Document Summary and discontinuing the abridged prospectus. The summary will be standardized and include key details such as business and industry overviews, promoter profiles, shareholding patterns, financial metrics, price discovery KPIs, litigation summaries, and top risks. It will be filed with IPO documents and hosted on issuer and regulatory websites. Application forms will incorporate QR codes linking directly to key disclosures, replacing the need for physical abridged prospectuses.

These proposals will require issuers to plan IPOs earlier to comply with AoA amendments and enhanced disclosure norms. Lenders benefit from greater clarity and assurance regarding pledged shares. Intermediaries face increased responsibilities for drafting, verifying, and hosting digital disclosures. Retail investors are expected to gain easier access to standardized, clear, and comprehensive information, reducing their reliance on unregulated sources.

SEBI’s changes address structural gaps in lock-in enforcement and retail disclosures to improve transparency, efficiency, and investor protection in the public issue regime. Market participants are encouraged to review the proposals and submit feedback before the consultation closes on December 4, 2025.

Malaysia intai kerjasama dengan India, Iran dalam bidang telekomunikasi

Sinar Harian | Local Language | News | Nov. 19, 2025 | UndeterminedBizdev-Partnering

Malaysia is exploring opportunities for cooperation with India and Iran in telecommunications, focusing on online security and scam prevention. These discussions occurred during bilateral meetings between Malaysia’s Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil and his counterparts from India and Iran at the World Telecommunication Development Conference 2025 in Baku.

Malaysia aims to leverage the telecommunications expertise of India and Iran, especially regarding combating scams, enhancing online security, and developing applications that benefit the public. The country is also in the process of finalizing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iran, while already holding an MoU with India.

Additionally, Malaysia intends to use its strong diplomatic ties with these nations to advance its telecommunications sector and digital infrastructure. The country is preparing to defend its seat on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council in the upcoming November 2026 election, emphasizing its experience in managing telecommunications issues, including rural internet access through initiatives like the National Digital Network (JENDELA) program.

AZB & Partners | English | AcademicThink | Nov. 19, 2025 | UndeterminedLegal Exposure

The Hon’ble National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, New Delhi (NCLAT) clarified in the recent judgment Maria Kuresh Rajkotwala v. Rozina Firoz Hajiani & Ors. dated October 30, 2025, that the rights of a personal guarantor over secured assets are extinguished once an auction is conducted and confirmed under the SARFAESI Act. Consequently, such assets cannot be included in the guarantor’s estate when a personal insolvency petition is filed subsequently under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

In the case, the appellant filed a personal insolvency petition on December 24, 2024, seeking to include assets auctioned under the SARFAESI Act. However, the auction of the secured assets had been conducted on December 13, 2024, with sale confirmation on December 18, 2024, both prior to the insolvency filing. The Adjudicating Authority and NCLAT affirmed that the secured creditor’s rights over the assets vested with the auction purchaser before the interim moratorium under the IBC could take effect, thus excluding the auctioned assets from the insolvency estate.

The ruling relied on precedent emphasizing that the jural relationship between a debtor and secured creditor ends on the notice of auction publication under the SARFAESI Act. The right to redeem the secured asset ceases upon such notice. The judgment reinforces that completed and confirmed auctions under the SARFAESI Act cannot be undone or invalidated by the moratorium provisions of the IBC. It further distinguishes the SARFAESI Act as a creditor-enforcement statute from the IBC moratorium framework aimed at preserving assets during insolvency, preventing misuse of insolvency proceedings to stall creditor enforcement.

This judgment strengthens creditors’ rights under the SARFAESI Act by upholding the finality of the auction process and protecting secured creditors from delays or obstructions caused by subsequent insolvency filings by personal guarantors. It affirms that once a secured asset is auctioned and sale confirmed, the guarantor’s legal interest is extinguished and cannot be revived through insolvency petitions. This clarifies the interaction between the SARFAESI Act and the IBC and curbs attempts by defaulting borrowers to abuse insolvency provisions.