Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India allowed all foreign individual investors to buy shares in domestically listed firms directly, implementing a budget proposal and expanding access beyond non-resident Indians (NRIs) and overseas citizens of India (OCIs).
This comes at a time when foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have been pulling money out of Indian equities, adding to pressure on the rupee. The RBI said Monday evening that overseas individuals can invest in equity instruments of listed firms on recognised stock exchanges with enhanced limits, marking a further liberalisation of India's foreign investment regime.
This potentially widens the investor base for domestic equities.
Such individuals currently bet on Indian markets mainly through pooled investment vehicles managed by foreign institutions, alternative investment funds, mainly Category III, or via limited NRI channels.
The government had last week notified relaxed rules for investments in listed Indian stocks by residents outside the country, including foreign individuals and entities. The amended rules under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) allow 'persons resident outside India' (PROIs) to invest through portfolio investment schemes, earlier offered only to non-resident Indians and overseas citizens of India.
The central bank said all commercial banks will be allowed to open repatriable rupee accounts for individuals outside India.
"The reporting of such transactions and monitoring of investment limits prescribed under the rules shall be undertaken in the same manner as is presently followed for investments by NRIs/OCIs," said the RBI circular.
The biggest roadblock in implementation could be onerous know-your-customer (KYC) checks and client onboarding, including documentation that is compliant with FEMA. "If foreign citizens want to invest through an Indian rupee bank account, it is not as easy to open one," said Harshal Bhuta, partner at law firm PR Bhuta & Co. "You need attested copies of proof of identity and address, etc. Typically, NRIs invest in listed companies through an NRE (non-resident external) portfolio investment scheme account. So practically, it would have to be seen how this would be operationalised for foreign citizens."
The RBI said any breach of investment limits would trigger a reclassification from foreign portfolio investment to foreign direct investment (FDI) under its prescribed framework. The move by the government and the central bank to allow foreign individuals to invest in listed stocks directly is seen as yet another bid to boost foreign currency inflows to stabilise the rupee, shore up foreign exchange reserves and ease external funding constraints. Last week, the RBI opened a special window for banks to mobilise foreign currency non-resident (FCNR) deposits from NRIs - its first since 2013 - and offered a 1.5% fixed-rate swap facility for external commercial borrowings (ECBs) by public sector units (PSUs). Economists estimated likely inflows from these two measures at $50-70 billion.
The RBI last week urged banks to maximise efforts to raise overseas deposits to shore up forex reserves, which had dipped to $681 billion from a high of $728 billion in February. The central bank stepped up interventions after the US-Iran conflict began, leading to a drawdown in reserves. Its net short forward position stood at $95 billion as of April, indicating significant intervention to support the rupee.
Separately, the RBI on Friday amended rules governing how overseas investors can pay for and repatriate proceeds from non-debt investments, streamlining procedures and clarifying reporting requirements under the foreign exchange framework.
