Sebi’s ‘stock trade’ stumps Dalal Street

MUMBAI: Dalal Street traders on Wednesday evening were surprised to see a bulk deal transaction on the BSE where the seller was the market regulator Sebi. Disclosures on the BSE showed that the regulator sold 55,000 shares of a little known company, Shyama Infosys, at 55 paise per share.
Usually, Sebi does not step into the market, directly or indirectly, to trade in shares. Market players said that Sebi had done this sell transaction through a broker on account of a defaulter.“Sebi carries out such transactions on account of some regulatory orders against some accounts,” a dealer said. BSE and Sebi did not comment on the deal.
Market players said that in case the regulator forfeits some shares, because of any wrongdoing on the part of an entity, the regulator, through a broker, offloads those shares to meet the pecuniary part of the penalty. “This, in no way, can be termed a normal trade,” the dealer said.