Having a website with up-to-date information at any given point of time will become mandatory for all the listed companies with effect from tomorrow — a move aimed at providing investors with easy access to information. A notification by market regulator Sebi, which makes it mandatory for listed companies to have a functional website with latest details of various investor-sensitive information about them, will come into effect from April 1.
The websites would require to have updated information about the company’s basic business and financial details, shareholding pattern, corporate governance, contact details, as also information about any agreements with media companies.
As per the Sebi guideline, the companies not adhering to the requirement of having a ‘up and running’ website will face the risk of getting delisted from the stock exchange where their shares are traded.
Changes to this effect have been brought forward by Sebi by amending Equity Listing Agreement, which a company needs to enter into with a stock exchange before getting listed.
Sebi said that these amendments to the listing agreement were aimed to “ensure/enhance public dissemination of all basic information about the listed entity.”
As per the amendment, proposed to come into effect from April 1, 2011, it would be mandatory for any listed company to “maintain a functional website.”
On its website, the company would need to provide “details of its business, financial information, shareholding pattern, compliance with corporate governance, contact information of designated officials responsible for assisting and handling investor grievances, details of agreements entered into with the media companies and/or their associates, etc.
Besides, companies would have to “ensure that contents of the said website are updated at any given point of time.”
With effect from January 1, 2011, Sebi has already made it mandatory for the listed companies to make relevant disclosures about their agreements with media companies.
What about the SEBI website itself? Is it updated? Just check out the list of SCSB banks and their list of branches authorised to accept ASBA applications for shares in IPOs and rights issues. The list given in the SEBI website has not been updated for ages, though the site says that the list would be updated twice a month. Only 10 banks are listed there while some other banks have also joined as SCSB. Even among the list of banks mentioned, the names of officials have changed many times and some of these branches also refuse to accept ASBA applications on the pretext that they have not received instructions to accept such applications even though the application forms mention their names. SEBI should first practice what it preaches.