Sep 01, 2018

SEBI Circular on Investment by Foreign Portfolio Investors in Debt

On June 15, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (‘SEBI’) issued a circular withdrawing the minimum residual maturity restriction of three years for investment by Foreign Portfolio Investors (‘FPIs’) in Government Securities (‘G-Secs’) and State Development Loan’s (‘SDLs’) and permitting FPIs to invest in corporate bonds with minimum residual maturity of above one year, subject to certain specific conditions relating to short-term investments. Further, the circular discontinued the auction process being carried out by BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, as had been previously stipulated in SEBI’s circular dated October 9, 2014. The circular also provides for the overall monitoring of G-Secs and SDLs to be conducted by the Clearing Corporation of India Ltd., and not depositories, as was previously required, and sets out other revised requirements for investments by FPIs in corporate debt securities, including in relation to concentration limits, investment limits in corporate bonds, pipeline investments in corporate bonds, partly paid instruments and actions in case of default. These changes were made in accordance with the RBI A.P. (DIR Series) circular No. 31 dated June 15, 2018 (Investment by Foreign Portfolio Investors in Debt – Review).

TAGS

SHARE

DISCLAIMER

These are the views and opinions of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Firm. This article is intended for general information only and does not constitute legal or other advice and you acknowledge that there is no relationship (implied, legal or fiduciary) between you and the author/AZB. AZB does not claim that the article's content or information is accurate, correct or complete, and disclaims all liability for any loss or damage caused through error or omission.