SEBI halves min market cap for follow-on offerings

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Monday halved the minimum market value required by listed firms seeking to make follow-on offerings to 50 billion rupees ($1.1 billion), which could push more firms to sell shares.

Indian firms have raised $17 billion in share sales so far this year, as they take advantage of this year's stock market rally of about 70 percent, and a clutch of firms have filed regulatory applications to raise more than $10 billion.

Last week, the government said all profitable, listed state firms must have at least 10 percent of their shares in public hands, boosting hopes for offerings from several government-run firms.

The new rules for follow-on public offerings applied to all listed firms, SEBI Chairman C.B. Bhave told reporters.

"This is to facilitate fast-track issuance in case of follow-on public offers, and more companies can access funds from the capital market," he said.

SEBI introduced fast-track issues in November 2007 to enable existing listed firms that regularly made required disclosures to raise funds from the primary market more easily.

SEBI on Monday also decided to introduce an auction-based method of book building for follow-on public offers, in which buyers will be free to bid at any price above the floor price.

Bhave said this would be applicable only to institutional buyers, and not retail investors.

($1=46.51 Indian Rupee)

(Reporting by Janaki Krishnan, Writing by Pratish Narayanan; Editing by John Mair)