Ghosh, Singh clarify on Vodafone deal
New Delhi: Asim Ghosh and Analjit Singh have told the government that Vodafone had bought only 52 per cent equity stake in Hutch-Essar and a bundle of "economic interest" in a block of 15 per cent held by the two.

The bundle of economic interest includes non-convertible preference shares with a redemption value of $3.75 billion.

The clarification comes in response to queries from the finance ministry after UK's Vodafone, announced acquisition of majority equity in Hutch-Essar, India's fourth largest mobile operator, from Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecom.

Ghosh has clarified that these shares were explicitly excluded from any sector-specific cap on foreign direct investment - 74 per cent in case of telecommunications - mandated by the government. Vodafone will also take over substantial loan rights and obligations (they have given loans to Ghosh and Singh to buy the shares) which are secured by, among other things, put, call and subscription options.

In addition, Vodafone will also take over the rights on branding and non-compete clauses that are now enjoyed by Hutchison Telecom.

Ghosh and Singh have also clarified to the government that the "bundle of rights" to be acquired by Vodafone cannot be exercised without the approval of the regulatory authority and compliance with Indian laws including the Foreign Exchange Management Act and of course the sector-specific cap on FDI.

Singh and Ghosh told the finance ministry that the companies through which they hold the shares in Hutch-Essar are owned by them, with unrestricted voting as well as dividend rights. The two together have a majority holding (62.75 per cent) in Telecom Investments Pvt Ltd, through which they hold shares in Hutchison-Essar, and have three of the five directors on the board. However, they did not have a voting arrangement or understanding with Hutch and will not have any with Vodafone.
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Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Actis to acquire 6 pc stake in NSE
Mumbai: Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and private equity fund Actis have agreed to acquire a 6 percent stake in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for undisclosed sums, the exchange said.

The deals will take foreign ownership of the NSE to 26 percent, the maximum allowed by Indian law. Earlier in January the NYSE Group Inc. Goldman Sachs, General Atlantic and Softbank Asian Infrastructure Fund paid $460 million for stakes totalling 20 percent in the NSE.

Morgan Stanley will buy 3 percent, Citigroup 2 percent and Actis 1 percent stake, NSE said in a statement late on Thursday.

The three firms will buy the stakes held by IDBI, State Bank of India, SBI Capital Markets., Corporation Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce the NSE said.

Individual foreign holdings in the Exchange are limited to 5 percent.
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NSE includes Idea Cellular in derivatives list
Mumbai: The National Stock Exchange (NSE) will start futures and options trading in the shares of Idea Cellular from March 9 when the shares of list. Each contract will have a lot size of 2,700 shares, NSE said in a statement.
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Tata mutual plans open-end debt fund
Mumbai: Tata Asset Management has filed initial papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India to launch an open-end debt fund.

Tata Income Rollover Fund would have three different schemes, the fund house said in its offer document.

Each scheme would invest in debt and money market instruments of different maturity profiles which could range between 28 days and 365 days, it added.
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EIH board approves Rs4bn ADR
Mumbai: Hotelier EIH has approved raising up to Rs 4 billion through an issue of depository receipts or a qualified institutional placement in India or the overseas market.
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Indus Fila lists at 6 pc discount on BSE
Mumbai: Apparel maker Indus Fila listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange at Rs 160 with a 5.88 per cent discount over its issue price of Rs 170 per share. After debuting at a low the shares of could not manage to hold steady hit lows of Rs 118.05 per share in early trade as 4.69 lakh shares exchanged hands on the BSE. The scrip was last trading at Rs 128.80 -- down by 24.23 per cent. Indus Fila, which is also engaged in yarn dyeing, fabric weaving and fabric processing entered the bourses today with around 1.93 crore shares.

On the National Stock Exchange, Indusfila listed at Rs 158.90 with a 7 per cent discount over its issue price.
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CSE to sell 51pc stake
Kolkata: The Calcutta Stock Exchange Association plans to sell a 51 per cent stake and has invited bids from investors and strategic partners.

The stake sale is in keeping with Indian regulations that require broker-owned exchanges to reduce the stake held by members to 49 per cent, in a bid to make exchanges professionally run.

The Calcutta Stock Exchange, which has about 3,000 listed companies and 900 trading members, will allow a maximum 5 per cent holding in the exchange by each strategic partner or investor, an advertisement issued by the exchange on Thursday said.
The exchange has a daily turnover of about Rs 20 million.
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ICSA to raise up to $24 million
Mumbai: Software firm ICSA India plans to raise up to $24 million through various means including overseas and domestic equity or debt issuances.

The company's board had also decided to allot 0.35 million fully convertible warrants to Goldman Sachs International, each warrant being convertible into one equity share within a period of 18 months, it said in a statement. This would constitute 5.3 percent of ICSA's outstanding equity. The shares of ICSA were up 2 per cent at Rs 963.10 on the BSE.
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