Sebi, RBI meet SA delegates on Bharti-MTN deal

A day after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that dual listing of a firm was not possible as per the existing laws, a South African delegation met senior officials of Sebi and RBI to discuss matters related to the proposed Bharti-MTN deal.

The meeting was attended by Sebi Executive Director Usha Narayanan, Sebi Wholetime Member Prashant Saran and Reserve Bank Chief General Manager Foreign Exchange Department Salim Gangadaran among others.

The South African delegation comprised top officials from the National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank.

The meeting, called by the Ministry of Finance to discuss the multi-billion dollar deal, is understood to have deliberated regulatory hurdles holding back the mega deal, including the issue of dual listing.

Under dual listing securities are listed on more than one exchange for the purpose of adding liquidity to the shares and offering investors a choice on where they want to trade.

Mukherjee had said that the Indian Government is in favour of the deal, which if its goes through, will be the biggest in the telecom industry. "We welcome the deal, but it should be in context of existing laws of the land. These have to be kept in mind," he had said.

Mukherjee had also said that the government is looking at the legal issues being faced in the merger, including dual listing.