Investments via P-notes rise in October after registering fall for 4 months

After declining for four consecutive months, investments through participatory notes (P-notes) in the Indian capital market marginally rose to Rs 76,773 crore at the end of October.

P-notes are issued by registered foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to overseas investors who wish to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly after going through a due diligence process.

Before registering gain in October, investments through P-notes had been declining continuously since June, according to the latest data from markets regulator Sebi.

The total value of investments via P-notes in the Indian markets (including equity, debt, and derivatives) rose to Rs 76,773 crore till the end of October from Rs 76,611 crore at September-end.

At the end of August, the Indian capital market saw a total inflow of Rs 79,088 crore through P-notes, a drop from Rs 81,082 crore till July-end. The investment had stood at Rs 81,913 crore at June-end and Rs 82,619 crore at the end of May.

Of the total investments made till the end of October, Rs 52,753 crore was invested in the equities, Rs 23,316 crore in debt and Rs 704 crore in the derivatives segments.

In July, the board of Sebi has approved a proposal to rationalise the framework for issuance of P-notes.

The use of P-notes has been on a decline since 2017 and slumped to a nine-and-a-half year low of Rs 66,587 crore at the end of October last year.

In July 2017, markets regulator Sebi notified stricter P-notes norms stipulating a fee of USD 1,000 that will be levied on each instrument to check any misuse for channelising black money.

It had also prohibited FPIs from issuing such notes where the underlying asset is a derivative, except those which are used for hedging purposes.