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Reliance Money had proposed to buy up to 26% in NMCE in two phases with approval from the Govt.

Reliance Money may get approval to buy an additional 16% stake in National Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (NMCE) in three months, a top official said on Wednesday.

Reliance Money bought 10 percent in NMCE last week.

"After buying 10% stake we are now working to get approval for another 16% stake in exchange..it should come through in three months," Sudip Bandyopadhyay, director and chief executive of Reliance Money, said.

Reliance Money, a unit of Reliance Capital and part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group, had proposed to buy up to 26% in NMCE in two phases with approval from the consumer affairs ministry, which oversees commodity futures trade in India.

NMCE is planning to raise Rs 100 crore through issue of fresh shares to existing stake holders including Reliance Money, Kailash Gupta, managing director NMCE said.

"The money will be used in funding exchange's expansion plans," said Bandyopadhyay.

NMCE, the oldest of India's three national-level commodity derivatives exchange, is also the smallest, accounting for 0.7 percent of the total commodity futures trade turnover in 2007, government data showed.

Rivals -- Multi Commodity Exchange of India and National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange of India -- have about 75 percent and 21 percent respectively of the total commodity trade conducted in 22 bourses across India.

NMCE's major stake holders include privately run Neptune Overseas Ltd, and state-run Central Warehousing Corp.