Foreign investors can now buy shares in Bank of Baroda, says RBI

The Reserve Bank has removed restrictions placed on foreign investors to buy shares in public sector lender Bank of Baroda, as the said limit has gone below threshold.

"The aggregate share holdings by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs)/NRI/Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) under Portfolio Investment Scheme in BoB have gone below the prescribed threshold caution limit, RBI said in a notification.

"Hence, the restrictions placed on the purchase of shares of the above company are withdrawn with immediate effect," RBI said.

Equity shares of Bank of Baroda can now be purchased through primary market and stock exchanges, it added.

As of quarter ended June 2015, FIIs held 13.55% stake in Bank of Baroda, data available on BSE showed.

FIIs, NRIs and PIOs (Persons of Indian Origins) can invest in primary and secondary capital markets in India through PIS.

The RBI monitors the ceilings on FII/NRI/PIO investments in Indian companies on a daily basis and has fixed the cut-off points two percentage points lower than the actual ceiling.

Bank of Baroda shares closed flat at Rs 152.70 on BSE on Thursday.