Asia Reg & Microstructure Wrap

Sunday, 2026-07-19 · inaugural edition — covering roughly July 11–19 to establish a baseline; future editions return to the standard 24h/72h lookback described in the repo's editorial brief.

India

SEBI

SWP/STP standing instructions extended to demat-held mutual fund units. SEBI Circular dated 17 July 2026 lets investors set up Systematic Withdrawal Plan and Systematic Transfer Plan standing instructions for MF units held in demat form — previously only available for non-demat holdings. Depositories must jointly publish an operating framework by 31 October 2026, with unit-based SWP/STP live by 31 January 2027 and amount-based SWP/STP by 30 April 2027. Effective immediately for the framework itself. SEBI circulars

FPI/FVCI registration fees shift from USD to rupee. A circular notified 3 July 2026 replaces the dollar-denominated fee schedule under the FPI regulations with rupee equivalents (e.g. the $1,000 annual fee becomes ₹90,000; Category-I FPI/FVCI registration moves from $2,500 to ₹2.3 lakh; custodian fees shift from annual to monthly). Designated Depository Participants must remit collected fees to SEBI within five working days of registration. Changes take effect six months out, giving FPIs time to adjust payment operations. SEBI circulars

Unpaid-securities handling by trading members revised. A 3 July 2026 amendment to the Master Circular for Stock Brokers changes how trading members deal with clients' unpaid securities, moving to auto-pledge into a CUSPA (Client Unpaid Securities Pledgee Account). Paragraphs 46.1–46.11 take effect three months after exchanges issue operational guidelines; paragraphs 46.12–46.14 follow a fixed six-month timeline from 3 July 2026. Circular

AIF investor-consent overhaul out for comment. A 30 June 2026 consultation paper proposes a uniform 75% (by value) investor-approval threshold wherever AIF investor consent is required — up from the current two-thirds in some cases — plus a choice of three standardised voting methods (deemed consent, present-and-voting, express voting) and a broadened "related party" definition (replacing "associate") for conflicted-transaction approval. Angel funds and Special Situation funds would be barred outright from investing in their managers'/sponsors' related parties. Comments close 21 July 2026. SEBI reports & consultation papers

Short-selling/SLB liberalisation reportedly under review. Media reports (Business Standard, ~6–7 July) say SEBI is evaluating nearly doubling the number of stocks eligible under the Securities Lending and Borrowing mechanism (from 176 toward ~350 of ~2,600 NSE-listed names) and easing the collateral requirement for borrowers from around 130% toward the 100% range seen in developed markets. No consultation paper has been published yet; treat as a live proposal, not a settled change. Business Standard (paywall)

Exchanges (NSE/BSE)

No material new NSE or BSE circulars this week beyond routine listing/administrative notices — nothing bearing on trading structure, derivatives, or settlement mechanics.

RBI, IFSCA & other

IFSCA proposes direct listing at GIFT City without an IPO. A consultation paper released 14 July 2026 would let eligible issuers list equity shares (including superior-voting-rights shares held ≥3 months) directly on IFSC exchanges without a public offer, provided they clear one of three financial thresholds (e.g. $20m minimum operating revenue, $1m pre-tax profit, or $50m post-listing market cap). Process requires in-principle exchange clearance within 15 days, an investment-banker-vetted information document, and an independent valuation for price discovery, with a special pre-open session on debut. Minimum public shareholding rules apply (10% for foreign issuers). Comments invited to 3 August 2026. IFSCA press releases

No material RBI items specific to equity markets/FPIs this week; RBI's FY27 FPI investment-limit settings and June's Fully Accessible Route expansion remain the latest live framework and were covered before this repo's tracking began.

Rest of Asia

Singapore: MAS's revised Code on Take-overs and Mergers took effect 16 July 2026, raising the "control" threshold from 20% to 30% of voting rights, capping aggregate break fees at 1% of offer value, and requiring scheme-of-arrangement meetings within six months of announcement. MAS

Singapore: SGX RegCo's custody-structure enhancements — letting depository agents hold SGX securities in omnibus broker custody accounts — and delinked tick sizes for HKD/RMB/JPY-denominated counters took effect 14–15 July 2026; a board-lot-size reduction for 11 high-priced counters follows from 5 October 2026. SGX announcement

Australia: The Federal Court ordered ASX Limited to pay a A$20.5m penalty (plus A$3m toward ASIC's costs) for misleading the market in 2022 about progress on its CHESS-replacement project. ASIC

Hong Kong: HKEX's amendments to Chapter 15A of the Listing Rules (covering structured products) took effect 1 July 2026. HKEX circulars

Taiwan: TWSE and the FSC are advancing a phased odd-lot trading overhaul — opening time aligned to 9:00am from December 2026, then matching interval cut from 5 seconds to 1 second and tick sizes narrowed for high-priced stocks from July 2027; the FSC said this week extending main-market trading hours remains a lower priority. Taipei Times

Korea: The KOSPI market-cap delisting threshold rose from KRW20bn to KRW30bn effective 1 July 2026, a change the FSC approved in May. FSC press releases

No material items this week for China/CSRC Stock Connect or Japan JFSA/JPX beyond routine listing and index-composition notices.

Industry & broker notes

Nothing distinct from freely available broker/industry commentary this week beyond the news items above.

Informational only — summaries of public regulatory sources; not advice.