[Rishabh Sharma is a IV Year BA.LLB. (Hons.) student at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad] On 28 August 2019, the Union Cabinet approved the proposed changes in foreign direct investment (FDI) norms in four sectors, namely, coal mining, digital media, single brand retail trading (SBRT), and contract manufacturing. The approved reforms in the FDI policy are anticipated to make India an...
Voluntary Retention Route for Foreign Portfolio Investors
[Bhawana Keshwani is a student at Law College Dehradun, Faculty of Uttaranchal University] In March 2019, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) along with Government of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) introduced a new window called “Voluntary Retention Route” to encourage Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) to lock their investments in India for a considerable period. This...
Food Combos: Whether Single-Brand or Multi-Brand Retailing?
[Akhil Kumar is a fourth year BA LLB (Hons.) student and Ayushi Singh a third year BA LLB (Hons.) student at NUALS, Kochi] Single and Multi-Brand Retail Trading According to paragraph 5.2.1. of the Foreign Direct Investment Policy (“Policy”), foreign direct investment (“FDI”) in the manufacturing sector is permitted in India under the automatic route. Further, a manufacturer is permitted to sell...
DIPP’s Revised FDI Policy for E-commerce: Changing the Rules of the Game
[Baibhav Panda is a recent law graduate from KLE Law College, Bengaluru and is presently a legal trainee at Nucleus Software Limited] On 26 December 2018 the Department of Industry and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued Press Note 2 (2018 series) introducing changes to the conditions that would be applicable to the e-commerce entities. The press note now amends para 5.2.15...
Cross Listing of Shares: A Start
[Rahul Sinha is a consultant with EY] The Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) constituted the ‘Expert Committee for listing of equity shares of companies incorporated in India on foreign stock exchanges and of companies incorporated outside India on Indian stock exchanges’ on 12 June 2018 with a view to facilitating companies incorporated in India to directly list their equity shares...
New Measures to Spur FDI in the Indian Defence Sector
[Bhavin Gada is a Partner and Soumya Shanker a Senior Associate at M/s Economic Laws Practice, Advocates and Solicitors. The views of the authors are personal] Timeline of Liberalisation of FDI Regime From 2000 to 2016, foreign investment in the Indian defence sector has been approximately USD 5.12 million. Looking at the total foreign investment inflows to India, one could say that this...
The “Masala” in Rupee Denominated Bonds
[Anirudh Singh is a 4th year B.A LL.B (Hons.) student at NALSAR University, Hyderabad] Background Rupee Denominated Bonds (RDBs),more commonly known as “Masala Bonds”, are debt securities denominated in Indian rupees issued by Indian entities to overseas investors but settled in foreign currency. In other words, they are rupee denominated bonds issued to overseas buyers. Though these bonds are...
The Walmart-Flipkart Deal: A New Era For The Indian E-Commerce Industry
[Hitakshi Mahendru is a 5th Year Law Student at Symbiosis Law School, Pune] Introduction In its order dated 8 August 2018, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the 77% acquisition of outstanding shares of Flipkart Private Limited (Flipkart) by Walmart International Holdings Inc (Walmart) and stated that it is not likely to have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India...
Direct Listing of Indian Companies on Foreign Exchanges and Vice Versa: A New Era for Fundraising
[Tanaya Desai is a 5th-year student at ILS Law College, Pune] Introduction In its press release dated June 12, 2018, the Securities Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) expressed its intention to consider facilitating unlisted companies incorporated in India to directly list their equity share capital on foreign exchanges and, concurrently, of foreign firms on Indian exchanges. In furtherance of the...
SEBI Informal Guidance on Foreign Portfolio Investments in Unlisted Non-Convertible Debentures
[Kosha Thaker is a corporate lawyer with a law firm in Mumbai] Background Earlier, registered foreign portfolio investors (“FPIs”) were permitted to invest only in listed non-convertible debentures (“NCDs”) or to-be listed non-convertible debentures (i.e. if the NCDs were listed within a period of 15 days from such investment). There was, however, a special carve out for FPIs investing in...
Recent Comments