Overseas investor inflows hit $10 billion in 2014

Amid hopes of a stable and reform-oriented government after general elections in India, net investments by foreign institutional investors (FDI) into India so far this year have reached $10 billion.

 

Overseas investors' cumulative inflows into the country are nearing the $200-billion mark.

 

Net investments by FIIs into Indian equity markets since the beginning of 2014 have crossed over Rs 30,000 crore ($5 billion), while the same for debt markets also stands around Rs 29,000 crore - taking the total to close to Rs 60,000 crore, data from capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) showed.

 

This includes net investments of about Rs 1,500 crore so far in April. This is despite a net outflow of about Rs 7,000 crore from debt markets, as equity markets have seen a net inflow of over Rs 8,500 crore this month till April 25, the latest trading session.

 

According to market analysts, FIIs are bullish on India and they are expecting a stable government emerging post-elections.

 

FIIs - the main driver of the equity market - have helped pushed up the benchmark BSE Sensex by over 7 per cent so far in 2014 and is now being seen as moving closer to the 23,000 mark.

 

They invested Rs 20,077 crore in Indian stocks in March, compared with Rs 1,404 crore in February and Rs 714 crore in January.

 

There were over 1,700 registered FIIs in the country, along with close to 6,400 sub-accounts.

 

Strong inflows in the recent months have taken the cumulative net investments of FIIs into India to close to $197 billion, while their investments in rupee terms is a bit away from Rs 10 lakh-crore level.

 

This is based on the data since November 1992 when the FIIs began investing into Indian markets and includes about $167 billion investments into equities and further about $30 billion in debt markets.