SEBI removes new demat account ban on three entities
Mumbai: SEBI has removed the ban imposed on IDBI Bank, ING Vysya Bank and Infrastructure Leasing and Finance Company (IL&FS) from opening new demat accounts.

While lifting the prohibition on new account opening, the SEBI Whole-Time Member, TC Nair however, said that the issue was not a closed chapter as a SEBI-appointed Enquiry Officer was looking into the matter.

SEBI also pointed out that the prohibition on opening fresh demat accounts was issued upon a serious suspicion on the genuineness of the accounts subject to verification by the depositories. "It was not a punitive measure, but a preventive step taken by SEBI in view of urgency, pending inquiry in the interest of investors and the securities market," the order said.

Lifting the interim ban, SEBI said RBI had fined the three entities Rs5 lakh each for violations in the KYC norms.

SEBi had imposed the ban on the three entities in its interim order on IPO scam, dated April 27, 2006, for their failure to adhere to the Know Your Clients (KYC) norms.

The three were among the several firms named by SEBI in the IPO investigation report, which saw people opening multiple demat accounts under same address to corner shares earmarked for retail investors during IPOs.
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Revathi Equipment allots Rs10-cr for buyback
Coimbatore: Revathi Equipment has fixed Rs700 as the maximum price at which it will buy back the company shares from the stock market. The company has created a corpus of Rs10 crore to fund the buyback plan.

The company told the NSE that the buyback of its fully paid-up equity shares of the face value Rs10 each from the equity shareholders and beneficial owners of the shares would be from the open market using the electronic trading facilities of the BSE and the NSE. The buyback is from July 28 and last date is the date of full utilisation of Rs10 crore or June 28, 2007 whichever was earlier or such other date as might be determined by the company at any time even if the maximum limit of buy back of shares has not been reached, the communication said.
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Dr Reddy's approves 1:1 bonus issue
Hyderabad: Dr Reddy's Laboratories has approved a bonus issue of one equity share for every equity share held. The company has fixed August 29, as the record date for the issue of bonus shares.

The company had become the first manufacturing company in India to become US SOX (Sarbanes Oxley Act).
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Kotak MF launches close-ended debt scheme
Mumbai: Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund has announced the launch of Kotak Twin Advantage Fund Series III, a close-ended debt scheme that aims to provide safety of debt and payoff of equity, an official statement said.

The new fund offer opened on July 27 (Thursday) and closes on August 25. It will invest 65-100 per cent in debt and money market instruments and 0-35 per cent in equity index options.

The investment objective of the scheme is to generate income by investing in debt and money market instruments and to generate capital appreciation by investing in equity index options. Maturity period for the scheme is three years from the date of allotment with no exit load.
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ICICI Bank to offload 19pc stake in ARCIL to US co
New Delhi: ICICI Bank, the largest promoter of the Asset Reconstruction Company of India (ARCIL), plans to sell 19 per cent of its equity to US-based Och-Ziff Asset Management Group. Och-Ziff would be buying out 1.9 crore equity shares with a face value of Rs10 a share from ICICI Bank. The total valuation of the deal would be done as per the existing FEMA guidelines, sources said.

Currently, Indian banks and financial institutions hold 100 per cent stake in ARCIL and there is no direct foreign equity participation.

The ICICI Bank currently holds 29.58 per cent stake in ARCIL. Following the sale of 19 per cent stake in the company, ICICI's stake would come down to 10.58 per cent.

ARCIL is offering its present shareholders a rights issue of equity shares having face value of Rs10 at a premium of Rs20 a share, taking the total to Rs30. But since Och-Ziff would be buying the shares in the category of "investors share", post rights issue, the foreign investor's number of shares would remain the same though in percentage terms, the stake would come down substantially, sources said.

Och-Ziff has sought permission from the FIPB to buy the equity shares from ICICI Bank.
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Promoters sell 2.54 pc equity in McLeod Russel
Kolkata: Promoters of McLeod Russel India (MRIL), the B.M Khaitan Group, have sold 2.54 per cent of their stake to raise approximately Rs25 crore which would be utilised for reducing the company's debt burden.

The company has sold the stake to the Singapore-based foreign fund, Capital International, at a price of Rs100 per share. The deal was struck on Friday morning. Around 2.5 million shares were sold out of which 16.63 lakh shares were kept with MRIL as treasury stock and the rest - 8.37 lakh shares - were sold from Williamson Magor.

As on March 31, 2006, MRIL's outstanding debt position was Rs475 crore.

The company has targeted to retire at least Rs200 crore in the current financial year. Around Rs50 crore would be generated from internal accruals and Rs25 crore would come from this stake dilution activity.

On Friday, the stock MRIL opened at Rs100 on the BSE and reached a high of Rs103.95 and closed at Rs99.
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