Global asset management firm T Rowe Price International can retain its stake in UTI Mutual Fund, with market regulator SEBI taking the view that the firm has not violated cross-holding norms by holding stakes in mutual fund (MF) companies outside India.
Two other large shareholders in UTI MF — SBI and LIC — had called for a stake reduction by T Rowe Price on the grounds that SEBI’s new cross-holding norms should not make a distinction between domestic and foreign shareholders. In a representation to SEBI and the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, SBI and LIC had said that T Rowe Price, which holds a 26 per cent stake in UTI AMC, should be directed to bring down its stake in the company, just like them.
