Foreign investors need to take prior permission for buying shares: RBI

Mumbai: Foreign investors would now have to get prior permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for buying shares in Bank of Baroda as such investment in the lender has reached the trigger level. The apex bank in a release said "foreign shareholding through Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/ Non Resident Indian (NRI)/ Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) in Bank of Baroda has reached the trigger limit".

"Hence, further purchases of equity shares of this bank would be allowed only after obtaining prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India," it said.The RBI tracks ceilings on investments by FIIs, non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin on a daily basis.

The cut-off limit has been set at two percentage points lower than the actual ceiling. When net equity investment in a company reaches cut-off level, additional buying of shares requires approval from the apex bank. As per data available on BSE, FIIs held 15.62 per cent shares in Bank of Baroda as of the quarter ended March, 2014.

Shares in Bank of Baroda, on Friday, ended at Rs. 934.55 apiece on the BSE, up 1.43 per cent from the previous close.