Proposals for disinvestment of shares to the tune of Rs 20 lakh in both the thinly-traded and unlisted categories will be cleared automatically, the RBI said in a release. However, for transactions exceeding Rs 20 lakh, the foreign investors in shares of unlisted companies have fewer options than their counterparts holding thinly-traded shares.
The RBI had announced guidelines for divestments of equity shares in respect of listed shares by foreign investors in February this year. The new norms for the unlisted/thinly trade shares were based on the recommendations of an informal group headed by B K Pal, RBI executive director.
For transactions of shares not exceeding Rs 20 lakh in both thinly-traded and unlisted shares, the proposals for divestments by non-residents in favour of residents will be cleared automatically provided the gross sell consideration does not exceed Rs 20 lakh per seller, per company, per annum
