Any investment that is made in India with the source of funding that is from outside of India is a foreign investment. By this definition, the investments that are made by Foreign Corporate, Foreign Nationals, as well as Non-Resident Indians would fall into the category of Foreign Investment.
Types of Foreign Investments
Funds from foreign country could be invested in shares, properties, ownership / management or collaboration. Based on this, Foreign Investments are classified as below.
Details on each of the foreign investment type can be found below :
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
FDI is an investment made by a company or individual who us an entity in one country, in the form of controlling ownership in business interests in another country. FDI could be in the form of either establishing business operations or by entering into joint ventures by mergers and acquisitions, building new facilities etc.
Know more about FDI in Company and FDI in LLP.
Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI)
Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) is an investment by foreign entities and non-residents in Indian securities including shares, government bonds, corporate bonds, convertible securities, infrastructure securities etc. The intention is to ensure a controlling interest in India at an investment that is lower than FDI, with flexibility for entry and exit.
Foreign Institutional Investment (FII)
Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) is an investment by foreign entities in securities, real property and other investment assets. Investors include mutual fund companies, hedge fund companies etc. The intention is not to take controlling interest, but to diversify portfolio ensuring hedging and to gain high returns with quick entry and exit.
The differences in FPI and FII are mostly in the type of investors and hence the terms FPI and FII are used interchangeably.
The Securities Market in India is regulated by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Refer to the article on SEBI to get more information on this topic.