International BusinessDon't count ADR, GDR to decide bank's nationality: ICICI
ICICI Bank has asked the government not to take into account overseas securities like ADR and GDR when deciding on whether a bank is Indian or foreign.
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Suggesting that the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) should make a clarification on the issue of foreign holding in a bank, an issue on which ICICI Bank"s status depends, its CEO and Managing Director Chanda Kochhar said, "We are an India bank and we are proud of it."
Earlier this year, DIPP issued new foreign investment guidelines, under which a company"s status would change from "resident" to "non-resident" Indian, if it has more than 50 per cent of indirect foreign investment, which would be sum-total of stake held through ADRs/GDRs, FDI, NRI holding as also foreign currency convertible bonds and shares.
ICICI Bank has little over 51 per cent of stake held by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), but it includes 29.07 per cent held through ADRs alone — thus changing its status to foreign bank as per the new guidelines, which are being debated among the regulators, authorities and companies.
"We have written to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and have given our logic. It is important to clarify... We have not received a written response but they are clearly working on addressing the concerns," Kochhar said.