Premji to dilute his Wipro holding, invest in social work

India's third-richest man, Wipro chairman Azim Premji, announced on Wednesday plans to invest substantial amounts of his money in social work. HT reports.

India's third-richest man, Wipro chairman Azim Premji, announced on Wednesday plans to invest substantial amounts of his money in social work.

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He plans to reduce his stake in the company by 8.7% by transferring 213 million shares to a trust for about Rs 8,846 crore.

The trust has been created to fund various social and charity initiatives that are expected to increase significantly over the next few years, a Wipro statement said. It will work in the area of elementary education and focuses on rural areas.

Premji is the chairman of the trust.

The transfer, which will be completed by December 7, will effectively bring down Premji's share in India's third-largest software services company to 70.6% from the current 79.4%.

"The trust (Azim Premji Foundation) is controlled by Premji and he will continue to retain voting rights of the transferred shares," said the statement.

This means the shares transferred continue to be defined as 'promoter's holding'. Premji's promoter control will fall only if the shares are liquidated.

Experts ruled out any immediate shortfall of liquidity in the market following the share transfer as Premji was be transferring the money to a trust that will sell shares only when funds are needed.