This was decided in a meeting today to discuss regulations on short sales. The committee was of the view that the disclosure regarding the outstanding position could be strengthened further.

FII registration fee payment rules amended: Sebi has amended with effect from April 16, 1999 the existing provisions of the Sebi FII Regulations 1995 to pay the registration fee, which is denominated in US dollars, by means of a draft drawn on Mumbai. According to a Sebi release this was causing a lot of problems for FIIs as the US$ drafts are normally payable in the USA only. The regulations have been amended to provide for payment the registration fees for FIIs and sub-accounts by means of a bank draft payable at New York, USA, also. The regulations have been amended so as to permit FIIs to sell the securities held by them to the issuer company in response to an offer for buyback of securities made in accordance with Sebi Regulations, 1998.

Alliance MF plans monthly income plan: Alliance MF is planning to launch India's first open-end monthly income scheme. Christened Alliance Monthly Income, the scheme offers two options to investors -- dividend and growth. In sharp contrast to UTI's monthly income plans, Alliance has decided against giving any assured returns to investors.