News digest: Air India stake, Sebi, Ola-Uber merger, and more

With debt at Rs 487 bn, govt invites bids for 76% stake sale in Air India The government will divest 76 per cent stake in Air India, according to the information memorandum on the airline’s proposed stake sale released on Wednesday. The sale will include Air India's shareholding in low-cost Air India Express and its joint venture ground handling subsidiary AISATS. Read more here Sebi clamps down on derivative markets; algo trading made more accessible The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Wednesday tightened the derivative markets framework to curb the excessive speculation and prevent small investors from entering the high-risk space. The market regulator, at its board meeting held on Wednesday, also accepted majority of the recommendations made by the Uday Kotak Committee on corporate governance but deferred decision on key proposals such as one on sharing of information with promoters.

Read more here 30-year hedge for Indian companies to insulate from volatile exchange rates In a first of its kind for India, an international fund is launching currency hedging instruments of up to 30 years to help companies insulate themselves from volatile exchange rates. Hedges up to 10 years are available in India, but are difficult to acquire. Generally, large corporates or public sector enterprises are the buyers. Even the 15-year hedging instrument is not unheard of, but such agreements are signed rarely and banks enjoy a huge margin. Read more here Common shareholder SoftBank calls for merger between Uber, Ola in India Japanese investment giant SoftBank has called for a merger between homegrown Ola and US firm Uber’s India unit as part of its planned consolidation in Asia’s fast-growing ride hailing app market. Read more here