The share of foreign portfolio investments (FPI) in domestic capital markets through participatory notes (P-notes) have slumped to an over eight year low of Rs 1.23 lakh crore at the end of September, due to tough rules put in place by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). This was the lowest level since August 2009, when the cumulative value of such investments stood at Rs 1,10,355 crore. According to the SEBI data, total value of P-note investments in Indian markets including equity, debt and derivatives, at September-end, has dropped to Rs 122,684 crore, from Rs 125,037 crore at the end of August. Prior to that, the total investment value through P-notes stood at Rs 135,297 crore in July-end and Rs 165,241 crore in June-end.
Of the total investments in September, P-note holdings in equities were at Rs 91,160 crore, while in debts and derivatives were at Rs 22,546 crore and Rs 8,978 crore respectively. Besides, the quantum of FPI investments via P-notes remained unchanged at 4.1 percent in September. P-notes are issued by registered Foreign Portfolio Investors to overseas investors who wish to be a part of the Indian stock markets without registering themselves directly. They however need to go through a proper due diligence process.
Over the past few months, the markets regulator SEBI has taken several measures to stop the misuse of the controversy-ridden participatory notes. In July, the SEBI notified stricter P-notes norms stipulating a fee of $1,000 that would be levied on each instrument to check any misuse for channelising black money. Also, the regulator prohibited FPIs from issuing such notes where the underlying asset is a derivative, except those which are used for hedging purposes. The move was a follow-through of Sebi's board approval of a relevant proposal in June. These measures were an outcome of a slew of other steps taken by the regulator in the recent past.
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