FII pares IDFC stake

Despite Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) getting a bank licence, one of the top foreign institutional investors (FIIs) in the company - First State Investment International - has pared its stake in IDFC by around five per cent in the past few weeks. Market sources say since the FII holding, according to the Reserve Bank of India's guidelines, cannot be more than 49 per cent in the first five years, the Ediburgh-based investor pruned its stake. However, IDFC's share price was seen rising 27 per cent in the past month. Sources said it was because all the top fund houses - Reliance Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential, HDFC Mutual Fund and others - have been lapping up the shares. The stock closed at Rs 164 on Friday.

Professor on the prowl
Shivanand Mankekar, who shot into limelight with his Rs 500 crore-holding in United Spirits earlier this year, has been on a buying spree during the June quarter. Mankekar, better known as professor in the stock market as he is a management professor, has picked up stakes in several companies, including Century Textiles, Future Retail, Jain Irrigation, Strides Arcolab, between April and June, according to the latest stockholding data. He also reduced his holdings in United Spirits by 1.09 per cent in the same period.

Fund houses seek foreign help for Fatca compliance
Mutual fund houses are struggling to comply with USA's new anti-tax avoidance - the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca) - which has come into effect from July 1. Under these new strict regulations, which are applicable to all the financial sector intermediaries accepting money from US-based investors, fund houses have to provide details of their American clients to the relevant authorities. According to sources, fund houses, through their industry body AMFI, are in the process of appointing a global consultant to hand-hold them towards achieving the Fatca compliance.