Indian Rayon Seeks To Raise Nri, Ocb Stake To 24%

Indian Rayon, the Aditya Birla group company, is seeking the approval of its shareholders for a proposal to allow non-resident Indians (NRIs) and overseas corporate bodies (OCBs) to invest up to 24 per cent in the companys equity.

This follows the governments recent move to raise the ceiling on such investments from five per cent to 24 per cent.

The shareholders will also vote on Rajashree Birlas re-appointment as director. Wife of late Aditya Birla, Rajashree was appointed on March 14 last year to fill the vacancy caused by the death of her husband.

Both the proposals will be put to vote at Indian Rayons next annual general meeting, scheduled to be held in Mumbai on July 15.

 

Rajashree Birla holds office till July 15 this year, when Aditya Birlas term comes to an end. She will continue to be a non-executive director and will be liable to retire by rotation, like other directors.

The company has decided to seek her re-appointment, as it feels it would stand to gain by her presence on the board.

The increase in the ceiling on NRI/OCB investment is being sought to take advantage of foreign exchange inflows, says the company.

Indian Rayon will also hike its authorised share capital from Rs 75 crore to Rs 100 crore by creating 1.4 crore new equity shares of Rs 10 each and 11 lakh new redeemable preference shares of Rs 100 each. This is being done to accommodate the increase in equity following the 1:1 bonus issue.

Indian Rayon is also seeking shareholders approval to pledge its shares in Birla-AT&T with financial institutions as collateral subject to a limit of Rs 94.04 crore.