Source: The Hindu Business Line, May 14, 2012
Mumbai: Core investment companies (CICs) making overseas investment in the financial sector will require a Certificate of Registration, said the Reserve Bank of India.
Currently, CICs with an asset size of less than Rs 100 crore are exempt from registration with the RBI. Investment in the non-financial sector by such exempted CIC, however, will not require CoR.
Source: The Economic Times, May 04, 2012
Investment activity was lower during April 2012 compared to March 2012. Deal volumes sustained through venture capital and early-stage deals, which accounted for 38% of the total deal volume, but there was a significant decline in the deal value.
Healthcare sector received the highest value of investments, backed by a single transaction – Advent’s investment of above Rs 570 crore ($110 million) in Quality Care India. Fundraising was slow, with only two successful fundraises of close to Rs 1050 crore ($200 million). Exit activity was largely driven by exits in the listed companies through the open market. There were no PE-backed IPOs during the month.
Source: The Financial Express, April 11, 2012
New Delhi:The government on Tuesday allowed foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to invest in commodity exchanges without any approvals. The move, apart of the review of FDI norms, aims at reducing red tape, but futures market participants discounted any significant gains due to the ‘cosmetic’ policy change.
At present, the country allows only up to 26% FDI and 23% foreign institutional investment in commodity exchanges, within a 49% cap on total foreign investments in the sector. FDI proposals will still need clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
Source: The Economic Times, April 10, 2012
New Delhi: Qatar Investment Authority, the Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund, is looking to invest up to $10 billion in India every year, according to its executive director Hussain Al Abdulla. The authority, whose investment portfolio includes iconic brands like Harrods, Sainsbury, Volkswagen, LVMH and Porsche, had invested $29 billion globally last year. “I am interested in anything that is consumer focus and that yields profits,” said Abdulla, who is in India as part of the delegation accompanying Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani
Source: Financial Times, April 9, 2012
Foreign institutional investment into India reached its lowest point since the 2008 financial crisis in the fiscal year ending March, according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Given the current environment, the fiscal year that has just begun is not likely to be much better.
Foreign institutions invested just $9bn in Indian equities last year, down from $24.3bn in the year ending March 2011 and $23.2bn in the year ending March 2010. During the previous year, ending March 2009, as the financial crisis roiled the global economy, investors fled Indian equities, resulting in a net outflow of $10.3bn.
Source: The Economic Times, Feb 15, 2012
NEW DELHI: Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma may announce the government’s “in-principle” decision to lift the ban on investments from Pakistan in return for concessions from across the border.
Sources said with the home ministry approving a plan to treat foreign direct investment from Pakistan at par with those from Bangladesh, it was only a matter of time before the government notified the new norms. In the next stage, the finance ministry has to clear the proposal making it possible for the Reserve Bank of India to amend Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema). Over the years, the government has pruned the negative list and Pakistan remains one of the last few countries on the negative list for investment.
Source: The Hindu Business Line, Dec 09, 2011
New Delhi: Even as Nokia Siemens Networks has globally announced cost-cutting measures, the telecom equipment maker is increasing investments into India.
The company has decided to ramp up its India operations in three core areas of mobile broadband, manufacturing and Global Network Operations Centres.
Hub of transformation
“India will be the hub of the transformation that NSN has initiated globally. Investments into India are being ramped up in key focus areas, including global delivery centres and manufacturing. So all of these facilities which gives us global scale and advantage of centralisation is being ramped up,” Mr Sandeep Girotra, head of Nokia Siemens in India, told Business Line.
Source: Business standard, Dec 05, 2011
Mumbai: Investors would soon be able to avoid repeated Know Your Client (KYC) procedures every time they register with a capital market intermediary. Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has framed the guidelines for a KYC Registration Agency (KRA) that could see depositories setting up subsidiaries to function as registration entities.
Source: The Hindu Business Line, Nov 21, 2011
Kochi: France will invest in Kerala in four sectors — energy, transportation, water treatment and waste management, Mr Pierre Fournier, Consul-General of France in Pondicherry has said.
He was speaking at an interactive meeting organised by the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Chamber Hall. Asserting the fact that infrastructure projects are the basis for Kerala’s development, he said the price of land, frequent strikes and trade union issues are the main reasons for Kerala not being investment friendly.
He assured to bring in a French delegation for a three day-visit in Kerala to study the feasibility of investments here. He said bilateral relations between the two countries are dynamic in the field of nuclear energy, defence and fight against terrorism.
Importers and exporters, shipping agents, travel and tourism operators, educational institutions and IT companies etc attended the function.
Source: The Hindu Business Line, Nov 09, 2011
Mr Ed Fast, Canada’s International Trade Minister, just completed his third visit to India during the last three years – twice as an MP earlier and once (recently from November 3-9) as a Minister.
He said ministerial visits will be more frequent as Canada is steadily increasing its engagements with India.
He spoke to Business Line in Delhi last week on issues including the progress of the India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations (Excerpts from the interview).
