The Government has cleared 14 proposals of foreign direct investment (FDI) amounting to Rs 1,289.85 crore, an official statement said on Wednesday. These were based on the recommendations of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) during its meeting on March 11.

The proposals include Rs 530-crore investment by Mauritius-based Ghir Investments for induction of foreign equity in an investing company and Rs 715 crore by Dhunseri Investments of Kolkata to issue and allot equity shares to non-resident shareholders consequent upon demerger.

The other proposals include that of G+J International Magazines GmbH, Germany (publication and sale of speciality and life style magazines), Kyuden International Corporation, Japan (renewable power projects) and Pipavav Shipyard Ltd., Gujarat(defence sector).

However, 27 proposals were deferred, including that of Forbo Holding AG, Lindenstrasse, Switzerland, to set up a new wholly owned subsidiary (WOS) to undertake manufacturing, sale, distribution, lease, import and export of power transmission belts, sophisticated conveyor and processing belts as well as some machines and tools.

Essar Capital Holdings' proposal for acquisition of equity shares by way of subscription to new equity shares and/or purchase of existing equity shares in an investing company engaged in the telecom sector was deferred.

Lokmat Media's proposal, for induction of foreign equity by way of IPO to carry out the business of publishing of newspapers dealing with news and current affairs, was also deferred. Besides, Arshiya International's proposal, for ex-post-facto approval for issue of warrants to provide logistics solutions, integrated supply chain and logistics infrastructure services, was deferred.

Other deferred proposals included that of: Punj Lloyd (defence equipment), Korea's Sejong Industrial (auto components), Dubai's Al Habtoor-STFA Soil Group LLC (bore piling, construction, drilling), Verizon Communications (telecom), Netmagic (ISP with gateways) and UT Starcom (telecom).

FDI from Bangladesh

Interestingly, five proposals for FDI from Bangladesh were deferred. These include that of Bangladesh's Rahimafrooz Batteries Ltd to set up a wholly owned subsidiary for import and wholesale distribution of batteries and providing after sales services in India; Kolkata-based Pran Beverages (India) and Southern CNG Automobiles India — both for induction of foreign equity by a company from Bangladesh; Bangladesh's Mango Holding to subscribe to equity shares of an Indian company in manufacturing and supply of wireless equipment by a Bangladesh company; and M Rezaul Hassan and Monnujan Nargis of Bangladesh for ex-post facto approval to set up a WOS to undertake software development services by Bangladesh citizens.

The only exception was a proposal from Oryx Aviation (India) Pvt. Ltd, Kolkata for FDI worth Rs 0.99 crore for induction of foreign equity by a company from Bangladesh to carry out the business of General Services Agent.

Meanwhile, five proposals were rejected, including that of Henry Lamotte India and Mecords India Ltd, Mumbai. The next FIPB meeting is slated for April 20. FDI inflows during April 2010-January 2011 were $17.08 billion, down 25 per cent from $22.9 billion in the corresponding period last year.

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