Overseas direct investment by Indian firms down 49% in March

Direct investments by Indian firms abroad fell by 49.1 per cent year-on-year to USD 1.36 billion in March 2016, according to the RBI data.

Indian companies had invested USD 2.67 billion in their overseas ventures in March 2015. In previous month February 2016, the figure stood at USD 1.85 billion.

The investments were a mix of issuance of guarantees (USD 762.64 million), loans (274.45 million) and equity (USD 322.67 million).

The prominent investors overseas during the month include Tata Communications Ltd which committed USD 299.5 million in the wholly-owned subsidiary in Singapore.

Among others, Reliance Industries invested USD 84.76 million in two wholly owned subsidiaries in Singapore and United Arab Emirates; KEC International put USD 65.46 million in a joint venture in Saudi Arabia and Emcure Pharmaceuticals invested USD 41.38 million in a fully owned unit in Canada.

PTI KPM .