FIPB clears DLF Hilton; Verizon, NTT wait

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), the nodal wing in the ministry of finance for clearing FDI proposals, deferred a record number of 20 proposals in its last meeting on May 31.
Also, as many as 9 proposals were rejected by the FIPB in the same meeting.

Among the 20 deferred proposals, seven belong to the telecom sector, while five are related to the media and entertainment segment.

Verizon Communications, NTT Communications, Arkadin SAS France, Essar Capital, S Tel, Telecordia Technologies, and Telstra (whose application was rejected earlier) are all in the queue to get their telecom proposals cleared by the government.

However, FIPB has kept them waiting as the concerned ministries are yet to reach a consensus on these proposals.

Decision on Verizon, STel, and Telcordia proposals have been deferred earlier also over national security issues.

In the case of US-based Verizon, for instance, FIPB wants information on its Pakistan operations before clearing its proposal for transfer of equity shares.

As for Telecordia, which has already been picked up by the government for managing mobile number portability in the country, the home ministry sought a review of the proposal over security concerns.

The media sector proposals which have been deferred include those of Sea TV Network, Transcend Infrastructure, Jagran Media and INX Media.

The rejected proposals are those from Shanbagam Estate, Simplast India, American Standard Bath & Kitchen India, General Nice Mineral Resources, Sri Dudheshwar Nath Steel Pvt Ltd, JT International, UE Development, Allied Moulded Products and ISNI Electric Power Company.

The cleared proposals are from various sectors including agriculture, media and broadcasting, mines, tourism, urban development and dairy.

According to the finance ministry, 17 FDI proposals worth Rs 569 crore were cleared by the government that day.

The companies getting a nod from FIPB are Godrej Tyson Foods, SDB Cisco, Haymarket Media, Eage Mining, C&J International, Matteo Basso, UTV News, Turmeric Vision, Clear Channel, Universal Music, Hindustan Media ventures, Mid Day Multimedia, DLF Hilton Hotels, Strawberry Constructions, Valuable AG, Freedom Opthalmic and Geomysore Services.

The biggest foreign fund inflow was into Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd, where FIIs, NRIs and foreign venture capital investors (FVCIs) are set to pick up to 26% stake for Rs 350 crore.