EXTERNAL COMMERCIAL BORROWINGS

Presenting the General Budget 2012-13 in LokSabha here today, ShriPranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister announced various majors for mitigating shortage of housing for low income groups. The Finance Minister proposed allowing External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) for low cost affordable housing projects and setting-up of a Credit Guarantee Trust Fund to ensure improved flow of institutional credit for housing loans. Full Article

A. P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 11, - As a measure of simplification of the existing procedures, it has been decided to delegate powers to the designated AD Category-I banks to approve the request from the ECB borrowers with respect to change in the recognized lender when the original lender is an international bank or a multilateral financial institution (such as IFC, ADB, CDC, etc.) or a regional financial institution or a Government owned development financial institu.. Full Article

Hitherto, Authorised Dealers Category – I Banks (AD) were allowed to permit pledge of shares held by the Promoters as security for External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) availed by the Borrowing Resident Investee Company subject to prescribed conditions. As a measure of liberalisation and simplifications, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has now permitted ADs to allow pledge of shares of an Indian Company held by Non-Resident Investor/s subject to certain key conditions o.. Full Article

Hitherto, Indian corporates in the services sectors viz., hotels, hospitals and software were allowed to avail ECB upto USD 100 million per financial year under the automatic route for permissible end-uses. ECB beyond USD 100 million was arguably not permissible even under the approval route. Full Article

India's central bank on Tuesday eased oversees borrowing rules for Infrastructure Finance Companies (IFC). The IFC's will not need the central bank's nod to raise overseas funds equivalent to or less than half of their own funds, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a statement. Full Article

Attention of Authorised Dealer Category - I (AD Category - I) banks is invited to Notification No.FEMA 29/2000-RB dated September 26, 2000 viz. Payment to person resident outside India on invocation of guarantee, A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 28 dated March 30, 2001 and A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 5 dated August 1, 2005 relating to External Commercial Borrowings (ECB). Full Article

As per the extant policy, eligible borrowers in the telecommunication sector are permitted to avail of ECB for the purpose of payment for spectrum allocation, under the automatic route. Keeping in view the large outlay of funds required to be paid directly to the Government within a limited period of time, it has been decided to make a one-time relaxation in the end-use conditions of the ECB policy. Full Article

With a view to rationalising the present arrangements relating to foreign portfolio investments by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/ Non Resident Indians (NRIs) and other foreign investments like Foreign Venture Capital Investor (FVCI) and Private Equity entities etc., the Government has decided to set up a working group to look at various types of foreign flows, which are taking advantage of arbitrage across the respective stand-alone regulations and generate reco.. Full Article