Moumita Bakshi Chatterjee

New Delhi, Nov 23 Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd is learnt to have sought the Foreign Investment Promotion Board’s approval for increasing the ceiling of holding of registered foreign institutional investors (FIIs) from 24 per cent to 49 per cent of the paid-up capital of the company.

The company in its application has said that permitting FIIs to increase their holding would be supportive of the market price for the shares of the company, which, in turn, would be in the overall interest of the investors.

Citing the changes in FII holding during this year, the company said that the data available pointed to an increasing trend of holdings by registered FIIs in the company through the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS). The shareholding of registered FIIs in the company invested under the PIS route increased from 10.13 per cent as on March 2007, to 12.77 per cent as on June 2007, to 15.77 per cent as on September 2007 and to 16.67 per cent as per the latest data on October 22, 2007. The company’s officials could not be contacted for comments.

Ansal API — whose shares are listed on the NSE, BSE and DSE – is engaged in the housing and real estate business covering the development of townships and construction of residential/commercial premises.

Earlier this month, the RBI had allowed FIIs to increase their exposure to up to 100 per cent in another Delhi-based real estate firm Unitech. It had earlier passed resolution to this effect at the Board of Directors’ and the Extra-Ordinary General meeting. The proposal was, however, more in nature of an enabling resolution, as the company’s promoters held majority stake.

In a statement, the RBI had said: “It has notified that under the PIS, investors can now purchase equity shares and convertible debentures of Unitech Ltd, through primary markets and stock exchanges in India up to 100 per cent in case of FII investment; and up to 24 per cent for NRI/PIO investment.”

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