QUALIFIED INSTITUTIONAL BUYERS

QUALIFIED INSTITUTIONAL BUYERS (QIBs)

Qualified institutional buyers are institutional investors who possess a strong financial expertise and has a reputation in the financial market. They are considered to have expertise in evaluating and investing in the market. Because of their financial capabilities, they are given certain privileges under SEBI Guidelines.

SEBI has defined QIBs as follows:

Qualified Institutional Buyers are those institutional investors who are generally perceived to possess expertise and the financial muscle to evaluate and invest in the capital markets. In terms of clause 2.2.2B (v) of DIP Guidelines, a ‘Qualified Institutional Buyer’ shall mean:

a. Public financial institution as defined in section 4A of the Companies Act, 1956;
b. Scheduled commercial banks;
c. Mutual funds;
d. Foreign institutional investor registered with SEBI;
e. Multilateral and bilateral development financial institutions;
f. Venture capital funds registered with SEBI.
g. Foreign Venture capital investors registered with SEBI.
h. State Industrial Development Corporations.
i. Insurance Companies registered with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).
j. Provident Funds with minimum corpus of Rs.25 crores
k. Pension Funds with minimum corpus of Rs. 25 crores)

These entities are not required to be registered with SEBI as QIBs. Any entities falling under the categories specified above are considered as QIBs for the purpose of participating in primary issuance process.