‘Unusual’: Union Government Officials Say They’ve Taken Note Of Chinese Central Bank Upping Its Stakes In HDFC Ltd

Calling the People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) move to buy an additional 0.21% stake in Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) as ‘unusual’, union government sources appear to have informally told the media that the government take note of the development.

Officials also told that the government is unhappy over the fact that the regulators did not raise a red flag over the transaction.

“No less an institution than a central bank of the world’s second largest economy has bought a stake in one of India’s largest financial institutions. Normally, there would be no need for xenophobic hysteria over this but a central bank buying an equity stake in a commercial entity is unusual. No red flag was raised”, an official is quoted as saying by the Mint.

The disclosure about the PBOC raising its stakes in India’s largest mortgage lender to bove 1% was made by HDFC Ltd. The PBOC’s stakes in HDFC entity are worth nearly Rs 3,000 crores going by prices quotes as of market closing on Friday (10 April).