As many as 37 media and broadcasting proposals were cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board in 2007 calendar year, and the number is much higher than the previous years.
Media/broadcasting proposals that got approval in ’07 far higher than earlier
NEW DELHI: As many as 37 media and broadcasting proposals were cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in 2007 calendar year, and the number is much higher than the previous years.
FIPB, in the ministry of finance, has given this information to the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B). According to a Parliament reply by information and broadcasting minister P R Dasmunsi, the FDI (foreign direct investment) inflow statistics is still being collected.
Among the media/broadcasting applications to have got the FIPB approval in 2007 include Malaysia-based South Asia Entertainment Holding for picking up to 20% FDI in Sun TV’s direct-to-home (DTH) venture, Mauritius-based CV Global Holdings for a stake in Independent News, Germany-based Springer-Verlag for fresh inflow in its India entity, DG2L Technologies for investing in UFO Moviez, Mauritius-based Monet Ltd for a stake in Hathway Cable, INX Media for induction of foreign equity, TV-18 HSN Holdings (Cyprus) for setting up a 100% subsidiary and BBC Worldwide for freezing foreign equity in Midday FM radio to comply with FDI norms, among others. Among the media companies, Sun TV’s DTH venture is believed to have attracted the highest level of foreign investment in 2007 at Rs 675 crore.
However, one of the largest investments in the media sector got significantly delayed in the same year — 2007. Private-equity firm Blackstone’s investment in the Eenadu group came under the government scrutiny. After several months of delay, earlier this year, Blackstone’s proposal was approved by FIPB after it brought down the investment level from Rs 1,080 crore to around Rs 590 crore.
Meanwhile, the government is working on rationalising the FDI ceiling across the media and broadcasting segments, to remove discrepancies and to also make India more attractive for international investors.
While the permitted FDI level for FM radio is 20% that in the case of cable networks is 49%.
In the direct-to-home (DTH) segment, the total foreign investment limit is 49%, out of which the FDI component should not exceed 20%. For uplinking news and current affairs TV channels from India, the permitted foreign investment level is only 26%. However, for non-news TV channels, up to 100% foreign investment is allowed.
Recently, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued recommendations suggesting that FDI in FM radio should be raised to 49 per cent from the current 20%. It, however, recommended that the FM channels transmitting news can have up to 26% FDI.
The policy on FDI is reviewed, from time to time, by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) with a view to rationalise or liberalise procedures.
m_nivedita@dnaindia.net
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