Foreign Investment Finance @5.50% Onwards

Foreign investment is when a company or individual from one nation invests in assets or ownership stakes of a company based in another nation.A modern trend leans toward globalization, where multinational firmshave investments in a variety of countries.

The routes under which foreign investment can be made is as under:

1. Automatic Route: Foreign Investment is allowed under the automatic route without prior approval of the Government or the Finance Seva, in all activities/ sectors as specified in the Regulation 16 of FEMA 20 (R).
2. Government Route: Foreign investment in activities not covered under the automatic route requires prior approval of the Government.

‘Capital Instruments’ means equity shares, debentures, preference shares and share warrants issued by the Indian company. Equity shares are those issued in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and will include partly paid equity shares issued on or after July 8, 2014. Share warrants issued on or after July 8, 2014 will be considered as capital instruments. Debenture is a medium- to long-term debt instrument used by large companies to borrow money, at a fixed rate of interest.

A convertible note is an instrument issued by a start-up company evidencing receipt of money initially as debt, which is repayable at the option of the holder, or which is convertible into such number of equity shares of such startup company, within a period not exceeding five years from the date of issue of the convertible note, upon occurrence of specified events as per the other terms and conditions agreed to and indicated in the instrument.

A person resident outside India (other than an individual who is a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh or an entity which is registered/ incorporated in Pakistan or Bangladesh), may purchase convertible notes issued by an Indian start-up company for an amount of twenty five lakh rupees or more in a single tranche. 

Foreign Investment means any investment made by a person resident outside India on a repatriable basis in capital instruments of an Indian company or to the capital of an LLP. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in a business by an investor from another country for which the foreign investor has control over the company purchased (OECD) defines control as owning 10% or more of the business. Foreign Portfolio Investment is any investment made by a person resident outside India in capital instruments. 

Fully diluted basis means the total number of shares that would be outstanding if all possible sources of conversion are exercised. 

No, FDI and FPI are agnostic from the point of view of the schedule under which investment has been made. It is the percentage which defines whether it is direct or portfolio investment.

Once an FDI always an FDI.

Please refer to the ‘Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Processing FDI Proposals’ issued by Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Government of India. 

 Indian company includes all those entities covered under section 1(4) of the Companies Act, 2013.

Foreign investment percentage has to be calculated on a fully diluted basis i.e. at the time of issuance of Employee Stock Options.

Financial Markets Regulation Department, FINANCE SEVA.

 All foreign investments are repatriable (net of applicable taxes) except in cases where the investment is made or held on non-repatriation basis.

Investment on repatriation basis means an investment, the sale/ maturity proceeds of which are, net of taxes, eligible to be repatriated out of India. The expression investment on non-repatriation basis may be construed accordingly.