P-NOTES INVESTMENTS FALL

NEW DELHI: Dropping for the fourth consecutive month, investments through participatory notes (P-notes) in the Indian capital market stood at Rs 76,611 crore at the end of September.

P-notes are issued by registered foreign portfolio investors (FPIS) to overseas investors who wish to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly after going through a due diligence process.

Investments through P-notes have been continuously declining since June, according to the latest data from markets regulator Sebi. The total value of P-note investments in the Indian markets — equity, debt, and derivatives — declined to Rs 76,611 crore till September-end, from Rs 79,088 crore at Augustend, showed the data.

At the end of July, the Indian capital market saw a total inflow of Rs 81,082 crore via P-notes, a fall as compared to Rs 81,913 crore till June-end. The investment had stood at Rs 82,619 in

May. Of the total investments made till the end of September, Rs 50,676 crore was invested in the equities, Rs 25 crore in debt and Rs 241 crore in the derivatives segment. In July, the board of Sebi has approved a proposal to rationalise the framework for issuance of P-notes — an instrument once very popular with foreign investors.

The use of P-notes has been on a decline since 2017 and slumped to a nine-and-a-half year low of Rs 66,587 crore at the end of October. In July 2017, markets regulator Sebi has notified stricter P-notes norms stipulating a fee of $1,000 that will be levied on each instrument to check any misuse for channelising black money.