Govt's plan to increase free-float in MNCs to 65% triggers sell-off

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is currently examining the finance ministry's proposal to raise the public shareholding threshold from 25 per cent to 35 per cent

Shares of multinational companies (MNCs) have been on a downward slope since the Union Budget. Top MNCs such as Siemens, ABB India, and Honeywell Automation have seen their stock prices correct between 7 and 11 per cent over the past four trading sessions. In comparison, the benchmark Nifty has declined 3.7 per cent.

Market players say the sell-off in MNC stocks could be on account of the government’s proposal to increase free-float in listed companies by another 10 percentage points to 65 per cent. MNCs are tightly-held companies with foreign promoters owning 75 per cent in most cases — the