New Delhi: The Union Finance Minster, Mr Jaswant Singh, today categorically assured the Lok Sabha that the Government has not altered or diluted the guidelines governing foreign companies to provide 26 per cent equity to Indians. He also denied any large scale delisting by foreign companies from stock exchanges taking advantage of the present liberalisation policy.

Responding to the concern voiced over by the Trinamool Congress member, Dr Nitish Sengupta, during question hour, the Minister said that between 1997-98 and 2002-03, only 62 companies had delisted themselves from the stock exchanges. Of them, only 21 were foreign firms and the balance multinational companies.

Stating that the main concern as far as the Government was concerned was not so about delisting per se but the measure of investor protection in case of delisting, Mr Singh said that in February, SEBI issued detailed guidelines on delisting of securities.

They provide that companies can voluntarily delist from stock exchanges only after offering an exit route to remaining shareholders through a reverse book-building process.