Citi owns 2.1% stake in VSNL

Citi Group on Wednesday clarified that it owns 2.1 per cent equity stake in Tata-controlled Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, which is less than 4.2 per cent that it had earlier reported with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a regulatory filing late last night, Citi group said it owns roughly 60 lakh VSNL shares. Earlier it had said the group owns 1.86 crore (18.6 million) VSNL shares.

Citi Group global markets had picked up the stake through American Depository Receipts listed on the New York Stock Exchange.  Before this transaction, Citi was holding 1.53 per cent stake in the Indian telecom major.

Currently, Tata group owns 44.25 per cent stake in VSNL and the government of India owns 26 per cent while institutional investors hold 19.14 per cent and others including public hold 9.58 per cent.