CNN-IBN promotors get govt nod for Rs 500 cr FDI

New Delhi, Dec 24 (UNI) Global Broadcast News(GBN), a TV18 Group company and promotors of CNN-IBN news channel, has got the government approval for induction of Rs 500 crore of foreign direct investment(FDI) in the company.

The amount includes investment by foreign institutional investors and within the 26 per cent cap permitted to foreign players in the news and current affairs business as per the government policy.

This was among 19 FDI proposals involving a total investment of Rs Rs 726.88 crore which has been cleared by the Union government, a Finance Ministry statement said today.

The proposals also include investment of Rs 200 crore by UK-based Middlesbrough Oils UK Ltd for setting up a wholly-owned subsidiary to extract crude Jatropha oil, a biofuel- which is now being increasingly promoted as a clean alternative source of energy.

The recommendation by Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to clear German auto giant Daimler Chrysler's proposal to set up a joint venture(JV) company for body building of buses has also been approved by Finance Minister P Chidambaram. But the JV's Indian partner would require government approval as envisaged under Press Note 1, the statement said.

The government also gave its nod to acquisition of 5 per cent equity in Delhi Stock Exchange by Cyprus' company Dunbay for Rs 10.61 crore, while Gurgaon-based ORG Informatics got post facto approval for issue of shares worth Rs 16.17 by way of cash and share swap.

The FIPB, however, deferred both proposals of Noida-based BAG Films and Media Ltd to raise foreign capital from an investor and through foreign currency convertible bonds for investement in a holding company engaged in uplinking news channels and non-news channels and FM Radio,the statement added.

UNI