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Regular-article-logo Monday, 23 December 2024

Foreign leeway in government bonds

Officials did not provide any timeline as the issue was still in early stages of discussion

Reuters Mumbai Published 28.09.19, 06:39 PM
India currently has limits on the amount of government and corporate bonds foreign investors can hold, and controls on the rupee’s convertibility too.

India currently has limits on the amount of government and corporate bonds foreign investors can hold, and controls on the rupee’s convertibility too. (Shutterstock)

India is looking to relax foreign investment limits in government bonds as it seeks to get its securities included in global bond indices in the next two years, three government officials said.

New Delhi is considering creating a special window for foreign passive investors that focus on index investing, one of the officials added, even as it seeks to counter the risk posed by hot money flows from more actively managed funds.

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The investors in the new window will not face the same caps as India currently has on such investments from foreign portfolio investors, the person said.

The officials did not provide any timeline as the issue was still in early stages of discussion.

The spokesperson for the finance ministry did not reply to an email and message seeking comments, while the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) declined to comment.

Relaxing investment limits and a removal of restrictions on currency convertibility are among the criteria that firms operating global bond indices consider before including any country and determining its weightage in such indices.

India currently has limits on the amount of government and corporate bonds foreign investors can hold, and controls on the rupee’s convertibility too.

Given its heavy dependence on imports for fuel and other needs, India is concerned that rapid inflows or outflows from foreign investors could cause sharp volatility and impact its balance of payments and currency reserves.

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