The Foreign Investment Promotion Board has made it clear that Press Notes 2 and 4 issued in February 2009, which changed the way indirect foreign equity would be treated in calculating foreign investment levels in Indian corporations, cannot take effect retrospectively for proposals before the board.
The FIPB on Friday cleared the long-pending proposal of HDFC Bank to hike foreign holding in the bank to 74 per cent.
At present, a project with investment of more than Rs 600 crore in sectors routed through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board has to be referred to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
In a major relaxation of foreign investment rules in the pharma sector, a special group set up under the finance ministry has suggested it could consider permitting up to 49 per cent FDI (foreign direct investment) in the automatic route for brownfield investments in case the company's control remained in Indian hands.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board on Friday gave conditional approval to the proposal of InterGlobe Aviation which would pave the way for fresh foreign direct investment in private air carrier IndiGo.
The Central Bureau of Investigation had called Karti for questioning on Thursday in connection with the foreign investment clearance given in the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2006 when his father Chidambaram was the finance minister.
Leading non-banking financial company (NBFC) Shriram Finance on Friday said Japan-based MUFG Bank would invest Rs 39,618 crore, or $4.4 billion, to acquire a 20 per cent stake on a fully diluted basis through a preferential issue of equity shares.
The clearances are for three proposals submitted to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board by Bharti Telemedia, which offers direct-to-home television services, Tata Teleservices, in which Japan's DoCoMo has picked up 27.3 per cent equity, and SKR BPO Services, which has made downstream investments in Sparsh BPO. Press notes 2 and 4, issued in February this year, changed the way indirect foreign equity is treated while computing the total foreign investment.
JV will set up a full-service carrier based out of New Delhi.
The foreign investment proposal by Italian jewellery brand Damiani to set up a 51:49 joint venture with Mehta's Pvt Ltd also got the government's approval, sources said.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) on Monday cleared Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airlines buying 26 per cent stake in Jet Airways for Rs 2,058 crore (Rs 20.58 billion) with some conditions.
Rakesh Gangwal's holding is considered FDI even though the majority stake in Caelum is held by NRIs
Country's largest realty firm DLF, which has tied up with Dubai-based developer Limitless for developing Rs 60,000-crore (Rs 600 billion) township in Bangalore, has sought government approval for bringing in foreign direct investments worth $ 150 million. Official sources said the issue would be taken by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) on Friday, adding it is likely to get approval. The foreign investment proposal would be given the final clearance by the FM.
Analysts say July 23, 2011, was like a red letter day for foreign investors when the Committee of Secretaries, headed by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth, recommended opening up the multi-brand retail trade.
Bid to plug loopholes that surfaced in Hutch Essar case.
The government on Thursday further liberalised the foreing investment regime by allowing Foreign Investment Promotion Board to clear proposals from overseas entities worth up to Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion), against the existing limit of Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion).
The Union Cabinet on Friday approved 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector, a move that was welcomed by industry as it would help attract more capital and global expertise, while boosting insurance coverage in the country. A bill to amend the insurance law is likely to be tabled on Monday in Parliament, whose winter session is slated to conclude on December 19.
The Finance Ministry, for the second time, turned down a proposal of Jaipur IPL Cricket (JIPL), the joint-owners of Rajasthan Royals, to transfer its entire equity abroad in a cashless transaction. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) rejected the JIPL plea on objections from the Sports Ministry, a source said.
India's leading agriculture commodity exchange, the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), has decided to acquire around a 20 per cent stake in a new commodities and financial derivatives exchange being set up in Sri Lanka, subject to regulatory and governmental approvals. The move aims to deepen NCDEX's footprint in the financial ecosystem of its neighbouring country.
Any foreign investment in excess of 24 per cent in an industrial unit, which manufactures items reserved for micro and small enterprises, will require prior approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, according to Press Note 6 issued by the government.
Chambal Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd said it has not received any communication from the government on the company's application to Foreign Investment Promotion Board.
A committee of secretaries will be meeting soon to consider a draft proposal, which suggests that decision-making on all policy issues pertaining to FDI be transferred from the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) in the Ministry of Commerce to the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) in the Ministry of Finance.
The government has cleared 19 foreign direct investment projects worth Rs 4,340 crore, including that of Tata Steel and Future Ventures.
Naresh Goyal-led Jet has also changed the shareholders agreement and amended the investment agreement and the articles of association, as suggested by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, headed by DEA Secretary Arvind Mayaram, official sources said.
At the end of September quarter, Tail Winds held 68,15,843 shares, equivalent to 7.89 per cent holding, of Jet Airways.
The government also increased the power of the FIPB.
Tightening the norms, the government has done away with automatic approval of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the existing pharmaceutical companies.
Mauritius is back in the news, and as usual not for the right reasons.
The proposal of Media Content and Communication Services to uplink Star News channel from India is still being examined by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry after Foreign Investment Promotion Board cleared it.
As part of it, the govt may permit 26% FDI in insurance broking through the automatic route.
This is the first Budget in my memory of Budgets over the last half a century which has embraced upfront, enthusiastically and emphatically, technology, modernity and fiscal sobriety, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
Brand name rule might be waived for Swedish major's mega investment proposal, indicates DIPP; final revision of its application likely by end-August.
The airline intends to raise the money to meet its cash flow requirements and had got the shareholders' approval for the same on July 24.
It plans an investment Rs 20 crore.
The Centre on Thursday cleared 14 Foreign Direct Investment proposals worth Rs 1,257 crore, including those of Mauritius-based Essar Telecom Holdings Ltd and US-based Goldman Sachs Asset Management. The proposals include induction of foreign equity worth Rs 500 crore by Essar Telecom Holdings and Rs 200 crore from GSAM. The investment proposals were cleared by Finance Minister P Chidambaram on the recommendations of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.
Currently, FDI up to 26 per cent is permitted through automatic approval route.
