Telecommunication To Services: Where FPIs Are Parking Their Money In 2025?
Telecom, services and utilities have emerged as clear beneficiaries, while interest-rate-sensitive and globally exposed sectors such as IT, FMCG and real estate are bearing the brunt of outflows.
Foreign portfolio investors appear to be changing course sharply in 2025, marking a break from two consecutive years of strong inflows into Indian equities. After pumping record sums into the market through 2023 and 2024, FPIs have turned net sellers this year, pulling out Rs 79,237 crore so far, according to NSDL data.
The reversal comes despite the Nifty 50 rising 9.53% year-to-date, pointing to a selective and sector-specific repositioning rather than a broad-based risk-off move.
The shift stands in sharp contrast to 2024, when India became a key overweight market for global investors amid macroeconomic resilience and a supportive earnings cycle.
FPIs had invested Rs 1.66 lakh crore in 2024 and Rs 2.37 lakh crore in 2023. The post-pandemic trend shows alternating waves of risk appetite and caution: outflows of Rs 1.32 lakh crore in 2022, followed by the 2023–24 surge, and now a re-emergence of risk aversion in 2025.
Yet beneath the headline outflows lies a clear pattern: FPIs are not abandoning India but rotating aggressively across sectors.
Telecom, services and utilities have emerged as clear beneficiaries of this rotation, while interest-rate-sensitive and globally exposed sectors such as IT, FMCG and real estate are bearing the brunt of outflows.
Telecom, Services and Utilities in Favour
From January to November 2025, FPIs have channelled the highest inflows into telecommunication, amounting to $3,578 million. The sector’s strong earnings visibility, expanding 5G monetisation cycle, and infrastructure-sharing models have elevated its long-term attractiveness.
The services sector has also drawn substantial interest, with $3,244 million in inflows, buoyed by sustained consumer demand and the rapid expansion of business and commercial services. Utilities, too, continue to receive global attention, securing $2,237 million in foreign flows, reflecting investor preference for defensive, regulated-return industries amid geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty.
Other pockets attracting inflows include chemicals ($710 million), oil and gas ($671 million), and metals and mining ($179 million). Media and entertainment, along with financial services, saw marginal but positive flows.
Where FPIs Are Pulling Out
The sharpest cuts have come in information technology, which witnessed massive outflows of $8,716 million. This mirrors the sector’s underperformance, with the Nifty IT index down 11.92% this year on weak global tech spending and delayed discretionary budgets.
FMCG saw an outflow of $3,531 million, while healthcare saw $2,517 million outflow and power saw the FPI selling of $2,509 million. FPIs also offloaded $1,238 million in realty and $1,647 million in consumer durables as elevated valuations and interest-rate uncertainty dampened sentiment.
These trends are reflected in index performance: Nifty FMCG is down 3.80% year-to-date, realty has fallen 17.31%, and healthcare is lower by 2.39%. In contrast, Nifty Services has gained 7.25%, aligning with the influx of foreign money.
