Axis Bank to be 'foreign-owned' after hike in foreign investments

The lender seeks to raise foreign investment holding from the existing 49% to 62%

Axis Bank will become a “foreign-owned” lender, to be governed by FDI (foreign direct investment) policy, following the go-ahead to its proposed increase in foreign investment holding to 62 per cent, entailing inflow of over Rs 6,200 crore.

The proposal, recently cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), now requires the go-ahead from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, as it envisages investment of over Rs 1,200 crore. The lender seeks to raise foreign investment holding from the existing 49 per cent to 62 per cent.

Following the hike in stake by foreign investors, the bank will become foreign-owned, whereby every future investment in seven subsidiaries will be governed by FDI policy, according to sources.

According to the FDI policy, downstream investment by an Indian company, “which is not owned and/or controlled by a resident entity/ies into another Indian company would be in accordance or compliance with the relevant sectoral conditions on entry route”.

The bank’s seven subsidiaries are Axis Capital, Axis Finance, Axis Private Equity, Axis Trustee Services, Axis Asset Management Company, Axis Mutual Fund Trustee and Axis UK.

As of June, foreign institutional investment (FII) holding in the bank was 40.7 per cent, while global depository receipts (GDRs) total 8.08 per cent.

 

The proposal to raise foreign investment limit by 13 per cent would attract inflows of Rs 6,265.76 crore (around $1 billion), sources said.

 

The promoters of the bank are Life Insurance Corporation, General Insurance Corporation, New India Assurance, National Insurance Company and Administrator of Specialised Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India.

 

Sources said that further increase in the foreign investment limit in the bank was sought as there is no headroom for further FII investment as it has already reached the 49 per cent mark.

 

Axis Bank scrip closed at Rs 1,097.70, up 6.63 per cent, on the BSE in the last trading session.