Tag: FDI
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Liberalisation of Foreign Investment in Single-Brand Retail
Although the proposed policy changes on foreign investment in multi-brand retail had to be put on hold due to stiff resistance, the Government has issued Press Note No. 1 (2012 Series) to increase the limit of foreign investment in single-brand retail from 51% to 100%. Such foreign investment would continue to require the approval of…
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FDI in the Civil Aviation Sector
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FDI – Transfer of Shares
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), through a circular issued last week, curtailed its own approval powers involving transfers of shares of Indian companies between residents and non-residents. Previously, certain specific transactions required the prior approval of the RBI, and these included (i) transfers not compliant with RBI’s pricing norms, (ii) those that required prior…
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Reversal of FDI Policy on Options
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Revised FDI Policy: Options Outlawed
In the comments section to my previous post on the new FDI policy, reader Menaka highlights another important clarificatory change regarding the policy stance of the Government that now clearly outlaws options in securities held by foreign investors in Indian companies. The relevant clause in Circular No 2 of 2011 is as follows: 3.3.2.1 Only…
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Revised FDI Policy
It is that time of the year when the Government conducts its bi-annual review of the policy on foreign direct investment (FDI). Consistent with the previous trend over the last couple of years, it yesterday announced the Consolidated FDI Policy in the form of Circular No. 2 of 2011, which comes into effect from October…
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UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2011
There have been several reports in the recent past about the continuing slide in FDI inflows into India. This has been confirmed by UNCTAD’s World Investment Report issued yesterday in which India’s ranking on FDI inflows has slipped to 14th in the world from 8th place last year. The report states the following reasons: FDI…
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Further Steps in Allowing FDI in Retail
Last week, the policy making machinery within the Government took the farthest steps so far towards permitting FDI in multi-brand retail. Reports indicate (here, here and here) that majority foreign ownership (up to 51%) will be allowed, although this is likely to be accompanied by a number of conditions including minimum foreign investment (said to…
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Miscellaneous
The following developments and readings may be of interest: 1. Sahara: Public Offering vs. Private Placement We have been following the Sahara case as it involves the crucial question of what differentiates a public offering from a private placement of securities under Indian company law and securities regulation. Newspaper reports (here, here and here) indicate…
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Discussion Paper on FDI Equity Caps
Continuing with its practice of engaging in public consultation before announcing changes to the FDI policy, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has issued a discussion paper on “FDI Policy-Rationale and Relevance of Caps”. The discussion paper introduces the possibility of abolishing all sectoral caps for foreign equity shareholding below 49%. Before dealing…
