These measures are expected to help check part of the huge inflows of foreign capital, particularly since the last week of July, and plug loopholes in foreign investment norms. Writes Anindita Dey in her story "RBI suggests more curbs on VC funds" on Business Standard.
Venture Finance for mature sectors like real estate:
RBI has suggested restrictions on investments by venture capital funds in sectors that are already developed and booming. RBI has said that venture funds by definition should be investing in
high-risk ventures in which entrepreneurs are unable to access capital and
not in mature sectors like real estate.
Isn't real estate "high-risk venture"? Do banks finance for land acquisition? Ask any builder, nobody will say Indian Real Estate is a 'mature sector'. In short, this has become a love triangle and RBI is not happy with Indian Real Estate's "affair".
Overseas borrowing without restrictions!:
RBI has suggested that FDI in real estate be brought under the
approval route — such investment is currently under the automatic route.
The RBI has suggested that there should be
end-use restrictions for investments by foreign venture capital funds.
It has also sought a time-frame within which companies have to
allot shares to foreign entities after receiving advance payments. This is designed to curb a practice by Indian companies of using advance payments from foreign sources as loans and then returning the money.
Such transactions amount to overseas borrowings without restrictions. Overseas borrowings are currently locked in for a minimum of three years and the interest paid is capped at 150 basis points above the benchmark London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) for borrowings of three years and above; and 250 basis points above Libor for borrowings of five years and more.
Thanks to sub-prime crisis, at least Indian real estate investors have become less critical of the RIB's policies.
real estate real estate investment blog Reserve Bank of India (RBI) investment venture fund venture finance venture capital Anindita Dey Business Standard Indian real estate entrepreneur foreign direct investment (FDI) shares overseas borrowing London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) ravi karandeekar
