U.S. Supports a Second Wave of Financial Markets Reform in India

September 6, 2001

MUMBAI. U.S. Ambassador Robert D. Blackwill today announced the beginnings of a U.S.-backed second wave of assistance to financial markets reform in India. U.S.-sponsored technical assistance will be focused on two initiatives that involve the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) directly, the Ambassador said. First, the USAID-funded Financial Institutions Reform and Expansion (FIRE) program will restart its efforts to make Indian markets safer for investors. As well, new involvement by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will advise SEBI on strengthening securities regulation.

In the first initiative, via technical assistance provided by just arrived PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) consultants, advisors will support a second generation of reform in the Indian financial markets following previous work in the area in the 1990s. This assistance will focus on strengthening the oversight and risk management capacity of the regulators and self-regulatory organizations, advancing disclosure standards and information dissemination, expanding investor education, and supporting insurance and pension reforms.

The second initiative involves a new, three-year agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide highly specialized technical cooperation and training in specific areas of regulation to SEBI. Members of the SEC team arrive in Mumbai and Delhi in mid-September, the Ambassador said.