Futures trading panel

New Delhi, Feb. 24: The Abhijit Sen committee looking into the impact of forward trading on farm commodity prices has found “no conclusive evidence” to prove that the price rise in essential commodities was caused by futures trading. “However, there is a strong corelation between these two (futures trading and prices),” the committee said in its report. The committee held its meeting on Saturday to finalise the report, which is expected to be submitted on Monday or Tuesday to the government, sources said.

BSE move

Mumbai, Feb. 24: The BSE plans to pick up a 26 per cent stake in Ahmedabad-based National Multi-commodity Exchange of India. A formal announcement is expected here tomorrow. The valuation for the stake sale is not known, but the new capital infusion with premium is expected to be around Rs 100 crore.

Tourism fund

Mumbai, Feb. 24: The Tourism Finance Corporation of India plans to set up an equity fund of Rs 400 crore by the middle of this year, which will cater exclusively to projects in smaller towns and rural areas.

ipo valuation

New Delhi, Feb. 24: The government has directed icai, the apex body of chartered accountants, to conduct a study on the pricing of initial public offering and suggest ways to protect the interest of investors.

Uco issue

Calcutta, Feb. 24: Public sector Uco Bank will opt for the qualified institutional placement route to raise capital if the government approval for its follow-on public offering is not obtained by March, a top bank official said.