Calcutta : The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) plans to hold roadshows of venture capital fund in the Silicon Valley, Boston and New York to pave way for a vibrant economy in the country through a massive foreign capital infusion. Announcing this here on Sunday, the Sebi chairman, Mr DR Mehta said with the recent changes in norms for VCF the country was expected to mobilise about half a billion dollars by the end of this fiscal as many of the pending VCF applications would be cleared in the next couple of months. The subject for holding VCF roadshows would be taken up at Sebi's next meeting on December 22 and a detailed suggestion made to the government, he said while talking to reporters.Mr Mehta who was here on the occasion of launching the Website of the Calcutta exchange said a committee headed by a Silicon Valley expert of Indian origin and comprising representatives from Sebi, the finance ministry, RBI and different financial institutions would be set up for successful implementation of the programme. "Once it is successful VCF will change the economic and industrial landscape of our country," the Sebi chairman asserted.
The idea of inviting someone form the silicon valley as head of the proposed committee had been mooted with a view to utilising the US experience as the country had recorded a tremendous growth in venture capital infusion, he said.
The Sebi chairman said the country must take advantage of the VCF potential to put the economy on a resurgent note, especially after the recent changes in norms offering several sops to foreign participation in VCF.
Mr Mehta said the Sebi had sent a team for an on the spot study in Korea where 65 per cent of stock trading was done over the Net. By this year end, Net trading in India would also increase manifold, he said.The Sebi chairman observed that the growth in Net trading would bring a radical change in the country's market with a sharp increase in the number of investors.
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