FIPB allows PTC arm to rope in foreign cos

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board today cleared a proposal of power trading firm PTC India Ltd...

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) today cleared a proposal of power trading firm PTC India Ltd to sell a 40 per cent stake in its new financial services arm for about Rs 155 crore to two overseas investors.

The approval would allow PTC India to sign definitive agreements with private equity firms Goldman Sachs and Macquarie Singapore for PTC Financial Services (PFS), subject to final clearance from Finance Minister P Chidambaram, official sources said.

PTC India Ltd, the country’s biggest electricity trader, would invest Rs 300 crore for its 60 per cent equity in

PFS. The two foreign partners would hold 20 per cent share each. PTC is expected to make a formal announcement by the end of this month, a company official had earlier said.

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The power trading major has already secured a licence from the Reserve Bank of India for PFS, which will function as a non-banking financial company. PTC India aims to provide financial services to power projects and also pick up equity in power projects through PFS.

The new entity would make direct and indirect investments in power units in a manner to be decided in consensus with the partners.