Indias net FDI flows surge to $38 bn in FY 2016
The Dollar Business Bureau India’s net foreign trade investment (FDI) flows are likely to surge to almost $38 billion this fiscal year. The major progress in FDI profile is a reflection of progressive policy reforms and the recent regulatory liberalisation in select sectors. According to a report of Kotak Institution Equities the net FDI flows stood at nearly $36 billion in FY 2016 when compared to $31 billion in the last fiscal. The report said that the nation’s position in FDI is estimated to further improve in 2016 with some positive signs. Recently, FDI announced by Foxconn in investment projects were valued at $5 billion in the coming 2-3 years, while GE and Alstom signed a joint venture deal worth $5.9 billion with ...
RBI limits FDI to 49% in Equitas Holdings
The Dollar Business Bureau The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday notified that aggregate foreign investment limit in Chennai-based Equitas Holdings, which got an in-principle approval for small finance bank, should not exceed 49 percent. In September 2015, Equitas Holdings was among the 10 enterprises to have been granted in-principle approval from the central bank for setting up small finance banks. According to the RBI's notification, foreign investment in small finance banks would be in accordance with the FDI policy for private banks. A release by RBI stated that the overall investment limit in Equitas Holdings under the Portfolio Investment Scheme for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs)/foreign institutional investors (FIIs) shall remain at 24 percent and for non-resident Indians (NRI), the ceiling should be at 10 percent. “For total foreign ...
Foreign investors seek simple investment procedure and tax norms
The Dollar Business Bureau Simplifying investment norms and setting up a separate income tax cell to deal with foreign investors are keys to make India an attractive destination, overseas investors told Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. On Monday, the Finance Minister met foreign institutional investors in Hong Kong. During the meeting, investors sought to know various initiatives to be taken by the Indian government to promote long-term investments and the execution of policy announcements. “The investors raised issues relating to private equity and their taxation; the need to further simplifying procedural requirements for FPIs (Foreign Portfolio Investors) and suggested that an income tax cell may be set-up to deal with foreign investors,” the Ministry said in a statement. The Finance Minister visited ...
FDI Equity Inflows register 48% growth after 'Make in India' initiative
Source: PIB, Government of India The growth in foreign direct investment (FDI) has been significant after the launch of Make in India initiatives in September 2014, with 48% increase in FDI equity inflows during October 2014 to April 2015 over the corresponding period last year. In 2014-15, country witnessed unprecedented growth of 717%, to $40.92 billion of investment by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs). The FDI inflow under the approval route saw a growth of 87% during 2014-15 with inflow of $2.22 billion despite more sectors having been liberalized during this period and with more than 90% of FDI being on automatic route. These indicators showcases remarkable pace of approval being accorded by the government and confidence of investors in ...
FDI in Insurance: More investments may result in FIIs controlling stakes in Indian firms
Sai Nikesh | The Dollar Business The holdings of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) in Indian insurance promoters will not be part of the total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), informed an official release on Wednesday. Informing this, the Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRDAI) was said to have published on Wednesday, a clarification by the Department of Financial Services on the matter. According to the clarification provided, holdings of equity in an Indian promoter company held by FIIs, other than the foreign promoters of the applicant and their subsidiaries and nominees, will not be part of the FDI and this was seen as a relief to several Indian entities that have a high FII holding. Speaking to The Dollar Business, Jose Verghese, Advisor, ...
Liberalisation of capital account must for Indian economy, says RBI official
The Dollar Business Bureau Capital controls have worked well in the case of Indian economy and have protected the economy in times of various currency crises, but, the time has probably come for India to revisit the issue of greater capital account liberalization, said a top official of Reserve Bank of India. “Greater opening of the capital account is inescapable as the Indian economy grows further and becomes global in dimension,” said G Padmanabhan, Executive Director, RBI. Padmanabhan said that since India is likely to become a truly globalised economy in the near future, it cannot afford to remain isolated for a very long period. The official cautioned that as the economy gets more globalized, it will become more ...
Tax authorities advised to go slow on FIIs over MAT
The Dollar Business Bureau As foreign investors eagerly wait for the contents of the ‘Committee’ headed by Justice A. P. Shah that is looking into the issue of mimimum alternate tax (MAT) on foreign institutional investors (FIIs), officers of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) dealing with international taxes have been advised not to take any co-ercive action against FIIs for recovery of demand already raised by invoking provisions of MAT. Issue of fresh notices for reopening of cases as also completion of assessment should also be put on hold unless the case is getting barred by limitation, said the government, reported a PIB release. Recently, CBDT has issued a notification saying “It has come to the notice ...
High-level committee to deal with tax issues
The Dollar Business Bureau The Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, on Monday, stressed on need for a non-adversarial taxation policy, as he made clear that the Government of India will not impose ‘retrospective’ taxes. “Our taxation process has to be simpler to increase tax buoyancy and the taxation policy has to be non-adversarial. The government does not intend to tax people retrospectively,” said Jaitley, addressing the D P Kohli Memorial Lecture in New Delhi. Further promising a business-friendly environment for the global investors, the Union Finance Minister called for a globally competitive corporate tax structure. He stated this in reference to the Union Budget 2015, where the government has proposed to reduce the corporate tax from 30 % to ...
