MFs not on the same page on Maruti vote

Mutual fund houses, which hold a reasonable stake in Maruti Suzuki, have so far failed to arrive at a consensus regarding their vote on the proposed Gujarat plant. According to sectoral sources, the mutual fund committee set up for decisions on voting for such transactions, headed by Axis Mutual Fund Chief Executive Officer Chandresh Nigam, recently discussed the issue. "While there is a general feeling that the Suzuki deal could set a bad precedence, many also feel there is no violation as such in the transaction," explained a source in the know. It's now left to individual fund houses to decide. And, it can go either way.

Hurdles for Sebi's new IPO timeline

From the beginning of 2016, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has said, the timeline between initial public offering (IPO) closing and listing will be brought down to only seven days, compared to 13 days currently. The move is being implemented by making the so-called ASBA (applications supported by blocked amounts) compulsory for all investors. The problem: ASBA, a system where money is blocked but stays in an investor's account till allotment is made, isn't available with all banks. In fact, the two latest IPOs (Alkem and Dr Lal PathLabs) saw about 70 per cent of non-ASBA retail applications. Sources said sectoral people had alerted Sebi that a lot of retail investors might be left out if the new timeline is implemented due to lack of ASBA reach.

Finance ministry for raisings FPI limit in bourses

The finance ministry recently wrote to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to raise the single foreign investor limit from five per cent to 15 per cent in a stock exchange. The idea was first mooted by the ministry in 2012 but not much has happened till now. It is learnt that the ministry is actively pursuing the issue and it might be announced in the Union Budget. Sectorals sources said Sebi has also sought the views of exchanges on this proposal.