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In a move that will enable foreign governments to make more investments in Indian stocks, the Securities and Exchange Board of India has allowed them to buy up to a maximum of 20 per cent stake in any listed company without any additional obligations.
The proposed threshold of 20 per cent is twice the current limit of 10 per cent, beyond which sovereign wealth funds or investment arms of foreign governments need to make an open offer for buying any additional stake.
SEBI, which will grant any such approval on case-by-case basis, has also sought changes in the relevant central government regulations about foreign investments, said a senior official.
A proposal to this effect was approved at a SEBI board meeting on March 25 and the new guidelines would be announced soon, he added.
The move, which would classify various funds of a single country as different entities and not as a single group, is primarily aimed at removing the regulatory hurdles for sovereign wealth funds of the countries with whom India has signed Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement (CECA).
Some of the major countries to benefit from the move include Singapore, whose two investment arms Temasek and GIC, have heavily invested in Indian companies and often face problems in buying shares beyond the current limit.
The new rules would not equate sovereign funds as any other foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and give them a preferential treatment.
“Sovereign wealth funds invest in India via the foreign institutional investment route and/or through foreign direct investment/ foreign venture capital route.
“For this purpose, at times these funds use multiple investment vehicles (two to three), which may differ in terms of investment objective and structure,” a SEBI board memorandum said.
“Having regard to this, one Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement signed by India recognises such investment vehicles of the sovereign as independent of each other for the purpose of application of the SEBI rules, regulations and guidelines,” it added.
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