India special treatment for large global investors
In a bid to attract more and more foreign investment, the Indian government is likely to launch a `Special Window for Financial Investors Facilitation or SWIFT`. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to announce this initiative in the coming budget. This special window proposal is said to have been drafted at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to a draft proposal, SWIFT will provide a single point of contact for large foreign investors with investment proposals of more than $683.9 million. It may also be open for strategically important investors such as Pension Funds and Sovereign Wealth Funds. SWIFT will not only facilitate a single point of approval and issue redressal but also provide policy advocacy. Currently, the Department of Economic Affairs has a special wing that works with institutional investors. A special Financial Investors Initiative is also operational in Invest India. But the existing system works at individual department levels. There is no integrated ecosystem. The proposed SWIFT will not only have different departments but also include financial regulators such as the RBI and the SEBI. During the Virtual Global Investor Roundtable on 5th November, several foreign investors raised the issue of delays in approval of large investment proposals. Investors said that dealing with different departments and regulators often consumes considerable time and impacts the time horizon of investment. Investors have requested for creation of a special window for facilitation and coordination with various departments and regulators.
In a bid to attract more and more foreign investment, the Indian government is likely to launch a `Special Window for Financial Investors Facilitation or SWIFT`. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to announce this initiative in the coming budget. This special window proposal is said to have been drafted at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to a draft proposal, SWIFT will provide a single point of contact for large foreign investors with investment proposals of more than $683.9 million. It may also be open for strategically important investors such as Pension Funds and Sovereign Wealth Funds. SWIFT will not only facilitate a single point of approval and issue redressal but also provide policy advocacy. Currently, the Department of Economic Affairs has a special wing that works with institutional investors. A special Financial Investors Initiative is also operational in Invest India. But the existing system works at individual department levels. There is no integrated ecosystem. The proposed SWIFT will not only have different departments but also include financial regulators such as the RBI and the SEBI. During the Virtual Global Investor Roundtable on 5th November, several foreign investors raised the issue of delays in approval of large investment proposals. Investors said that dealing with different departments and regulators often consumes considerable time and impacts the time horizon of investment. Investors have requested for creation of a special window for facilitation and coordination with various departments and regulators.
