Jaypee gets FMC nod to sell 5.3% stake in NCDEX to Oman India

Last month, company had offloaded 14.7% stake in NCDEX to three investors

Brokerage firm Jaypee Capital Services Ltd has got permission from regulator FMC to sell its 5.30% stake in the agri-commodity exchange NCDEX to Oman India Joint Investment Fund.

Jaypee Capital is selling its stake in the country's second biggest commodity bourse NCDEX to comply with the FMC norms that do not allow shareholders having over 1% of the shares in a bourse to trade on it. Of 22.36% stake in NCDEX, it has offloaded 14.7% so far.

"The Commission on December 2 has conveyed its approval for the transfer of 5.30% of the total shareholding of NCDEX from the Jaypee Capital Services to Oman India Joint Investment Fund as per the share purchase agreements between the parties," the FMC said in its latest report.

NCDEX spokesperson said that Jaypee Capital is in the process of selling its equity in the exchange to Oman India Joint Investment Fund in the second tranche.

"Matter relating to the price is between the parties, the exchange cannot comment on the same," she added.

Last month, the Jaypee Capital had offloaded 14.7% stake in NCDEX to three investors, of which 4.7% was sold to Oman India Investment Fund.

If the second tranche of stake sale is successful, Oman India's total equity in the NCDEX will rise to 10% and would become one of the top five investors in the exchange, while Jaypee Capital's shares would further come down to 2.36% and cease to be an anchor investor.

According to sources, Jaypee Capital is planning to exit the bourse and focus more on its brokerage business.

With Jaypee offloading its majority stake, the exchange will operate without an anchor investor as none of the existing shareholders have more than 15% stake in the bourse. Maximum stake of 12.5% is being held by top sugar refiner Shree Renuka Sugars.

Besides Jaypee and Renuka Sugars, other key shareholders of NCDEX include NSE, Nabard, LIC, IIFCO, PNB, Canara Bank and Intercontinental Exchange of the US.

According to the Forward Markets Commission, the turnover of 17 commodity bourses, including NCDEX and MCX, fell by over 35% to Rs 79.54 lakh crore till December 15 of the current fiscal, from Rs 123.15 lakh crore in the same period last year.

Much of the business fall was witnessed in gold, silver, metals, energy and agricultural items, it said.

Imposition of the commodity transaction tax (CTT) of 0.01% since July and the deepening crisis at the National Spot Exchange Ltd affected investors confidence and trading volumes on all the commodity bourses.