India retained its position as the second most preferred destination for global investors as measured by the AT Kearney FDI Confidenx Index, 2007.
Releasing the figures, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said: "FDI inflows continue with great momentum," adding that India displaced the US on the AT Kearney index.
He said China retained the number one slot, thanks to the US and Asian investors placing it ahead of India. However, for the European firms, India was the most preferred investment destination, Nath said. India received a total of $15.7 billion as FDI in 2006-07.
Vodafone Mauritius, Matsushita Electric Works, GA Global Investments, Emmar Holdings and Merill Lynch were the five major foreign investors during the April-September period of 2007-08.
Services sector topped the table of FDI inflows followed by telecom and real estate. Nath said with changes in laws governing small and medium enterprises, FDI would be allowed in the services sector without any cap.
He said the new Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Act does not provide for a 24 per cent equity cap on any industrial undertaking in the SSI sector.
The highest FDI during April-September period was received from Vodafone Mauritius ($801 million), followed by Matsushita Electric Works ($ 342 million), GA Global Investments ($ 258 million), Emmar Holdings ($ 204 million) and Merrill Lynch (Mauritius) Investments ($166 million).
Major sectors that received FDI during 2007-08 were services sector ($1.6 billion), telecom ($0.9 billion), housing and real estate ($0.7 billion), construction activities ($0.7 billion), electrical equipment ($0.5 billion), computer software and hardware ($ 0.3 billion).
