When it came to borrowings in foreign currency, Indian companies hitherto had two options, namely (i) external commercial borrowings (ECBs) where they borrow monies in foreign currency, or (ii) foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) where they issue bonds denominated in foreign currency that are convertible into shares of the issuer company. About a week ago, the Ministry of Finance granted...
Indian Sovereign Wealth Fund: Now a Possibility
Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have become the flavour of the day. Not only are the SWFs of various countries investing billions of dollars in companies around the world, they are generating a significant amount of skepticism from regulators in host countries urging greater transparency.As far as India is concerned, initial indications from the Reserve Bank of India have implied reluctance on the...
Review of FDI Policy
The Union Cabinet has approved changes to the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy, and increased avenues and limits for foreign investment in certain sectors. These are: – construction development projects– civil aviation– petroleum & natural gas– commodity exchanges– credit information companies– mining– industrial parks. For details, see reports...
Indo-Mauritius Tax Treaty: Benefits to Stay
Indications are that the Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty between India and Mauritius will stay despite pressure from the Indian tax authorities. In fact, the Treaty may be strengthened to withstand repeated scrutiny from the Indian tax authorities. The Economic Times reports: “The controversial double tax avoidance treaty between India and Mauritius is likely to survive despite pressure from the...
Will We Witness an Indian Sovereign Wealth Fund?
Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) have become the flavour of the day. The business press regularly reports investments (usually running into several billions of dollars) by the sovereign wealth fund of one or the other country into companies of located in yet another country. Several US financial companies embattled by the subprime crisis have been the largest recipients of investments by SWFs. For a...
Miscellaneous: Bangladesh Investments, IDRs, Goa SEZs
1. Investments from Bangladesh eased The Economic Times reports that Bangladeshi investors are now allowed to Indian companies, albeit with the approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (and not under the automatic route). This removes a previous embargo on such investments. The report states: “India has opened its door for investments from Bangladesh by dropping the country from the...
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