At least four companies have expressed interest in buying stake in the proposed commodity exchange promoted by Indiabulls Financial Services Ltd, a senior official said on Thursday.
The firms, which are all Indian, include banks, government bodies and private companies, Gagan Banga, director, told Reuters adding all of them have applied to the Reserve Bank of India for the necessary approval. He declined to name the companies.
Indiabulls has also applied to the Forward Markets Commission (FMC), commodity futures market regulator, for permission to sell its stake, he said.
The companies “want 45 percent but we will sell 34 percent as we want to retain 40 percent,” Banga said refering to the percentage of stake sale being negotiated.
In July, FMC asked Indiabulls to reduce its stake in the proposed exchange to 40 percent from 74 percent within a month in adherence to rules that bar single entities from holding more than 40 percent stake in a commodity bourse.
The federal government approved a multi commodity exchange to be jointly set up by Indiabulls and state-run MMTC Ltd, the two firms said in July.
Source: Reuters