SEBI asks govt to cap stake in listed state firms to 75 percent in three years

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Thursday asked the government to cut its stake in listed state companies and cap it at 75 percent within three years.

Currently, the government owns stakes of as much as 90 percent in some listed state companies including Coal India Ltd , the world's largest coal miner, and trading company MMTC Ltd , according to the stock exchange data.

SEBI Chairman U.K. Sinha said the move was meant to bring "uniformity" in India's minimum public shareholding rules. All private companies have to maintain a 25 percent public shareholding.

 

SEBI also said the minimum dilution to the public via an initial public offering for all companies should be 25 percent or 4 billion rupees.

($1 = 59.7000 rupees)

(Reporting by Himank Sharma and Nandita Bose; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Ryan Woo)