Jet surges as much as nearly 20 pct on talk FIPB to approve Etihad deal

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares in Jet Airways surged as much as 19.7 percent on Friday after traders said the Foreign Investment Promotion Board was likely to approve a planned stake sale to Etihad Airways.

Jet Airways and Etihad Airways officials were not immediately reachable for comment on the market speculation. A spokesman for India's finance ministry, which oversees FIPB, declined to comment.

The FIPB, which clears foreign direct investment proposals, is scheduled to consider the Jet-Etihad deal at its meeting on Monday and traders said it may be approved.

The FIPB last month deferred a decision on Jet's plan to sell a 24 percent stake to Etihad.

 

Jet shares were trading 14 percent higher at 12.22 p.m.

(Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi and Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Miral Fahmy)