Overseas investments by Indian firms has more than doubled on the previous fiscal year as companies expand their international footprint, data from India's central bank showed Wednesday. Foreign direct investment (FDI) by Indian firms into overseas markets rose over two-fold to $43.92 billion in the fiscal year ended March, against $17.98 billion a year earlier, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed.
It is the first time the RBI has released such data as it seeks to improve transparency as Indian firms increase their overseas presence and exports, it said on its website Wednesday. In the first two months of the current fiscal year, FDI by Indian firms rose to $5.1 billion, the bank data showed, without providing a comparative figure.
"In the post-2003 period, Indian overseas investment policies have enabled corporates and registered partnerships to invest in businesses abroad, currently to the extent of 400 percent of their net worth," the bank added.
Indian firms have invested in software, banking, pharmaceuticals and steel sectors overseas in recent years and made major acquisitions across the world. FDI into India recovered in April, up 43 percent to $3.1 billion, from a year earlier, data showed this week, led by investments into services, construction and the automobile sector.
FDI levels were poor in the previous fiscal year and foreign investor confidence was dampened by a spate of corruption scandals against the ruling Congress party and the lack of government reforms. India has invested $80 billion in the past decade (years 2000 to 2010), with the most favoured destinations being the United States and Britain, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation, a joint government-industry firm.
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