India's capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has said that it will not ease regulations relating to requirements for public shareholding in companies.

The regulator said that it will not remove the guidelines that require a minimum of 25 per cent shareholding by the public in companies, a move that will upset promoters looking to hold on to their 80 to 90 per cent stake in listed companies.

Sebi chairman U. K. Sinha said pointed out that all listed companies in the company will be required to have a minimum level of pubic shareholdings. He said that all public sector firms should have at-least 10 per cent public holdings and private sector firms should have a minimum of 25 per cent public share holding.

"Companies will have to see that public shareholding is 25 per cent within the timeframe. As far as privatelisted companies are concerned, it is June 2013 and for the public sector firms it is August 2013," Sinha said. He was speaking at an event of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

He said that some companies are expecting Sebi to relax norms and stressed that it will not happen and in fact he will look to tighten the regulations. In order to meet the regulations, private sector firms will have to mobilize Rs 27,000 crore by June 2013 and 16 PSUs will mobilise Rs 12,000 crore.

Meanwhile, he also said that the regulator will release guidelines for `Manner of Increasing and Maintaining Public Shareholding in Recognised Stock Exchanges' in the next two months.