Investment Board Clears FDI Proposals Worth Rs 290 Crore

New Delhi: The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has cleared seven FDI proposals worth Rs 290 crore, while deferring decision on other seven applications including one by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Idea.

Tikona Digital Networks' Rs 267-crore proposal to increase foreign equity to 76.73 per cent through issuance of CCDs was approved by the government.

According a Finance Ministry statement, an application to increase foreign investment in Idea Cellular Infrastructure Services Ltd (ICISL) to up to 67.5 per cent was deferred by the panel, chaired by Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das.

ICISL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Idea, which has become a foreign-owned company with a more than 50 per cent overseas investment.

Other deferred proposals included Morgan Stanley India Primary Dealer Pvt Ltd's proposal for increasing equity participation from 75 per cent to 100 per cent by way of transfer of equity shares from Morgan Stanley India Capital Pvt Ltd (indirectly owned by Foreign Investor) to Morgan Stanley Mauritius Co Ltd, Mauritius by amending the earlier approval.

Besides, Quintillion Business Media's proposal for approval for the issuance of equity shares to Bloomberg has also been deferred.

Investment proposals of HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) Pvt Ltd and The Financial Times (India) Private Limited were also deferred. 

Companies whose investment proposals were cleared includes IMCD India, Samara Capital Partners Fund II Ltd, Reckitt Benckiser (India) Ltd, Haymarket SAC Publishing (India) and Fincare Business Services.

The investment board rejected five proposals including one by pharma company Sanofi-Synthelabo (India).

India allows FDI in most sectors through the automatic route, but in certain segments considered sensitive for the economy and security, the proposals have to be first cleared by investment board FIPB.