No worry on P-note norms: Sinha

Sinha said the new norms will be applicable on a prospective basis and there is enough transition time for the existing investment.

Foreign investors need have no unnecessary worries about the recent changes in the tax agreement with Mauritius or the measures regarding Participatory Notes (P-notes), says the capital markets regulator.

U K Sinha, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), said investors from abroad did have various queries on both. “The details were given and they were assured that whatever has been thought of is from a prospective date,” he said on the sidelines of ‘The Gateway of India Dialogue’ here.

Sebi recently notified new rules on P-notes to bring in more transparency and curb misuse of the route. P-notes, also called offshore derivatives instruments, allow foreign investors to take exposure to Indian stocks without registering with Sebi. These are issued by foreign portfolio investors registered with Sebi.

Sinha said US investors were optimistic on our economy and the development of India’s regulatory regime was widely appreciated. He’d recently met investors in from the mutual fund and pension fund sector in that country, beside academics.

“They are appreciating the positive direction in which the government has moved and clarity which has been provided in matters of law and long-term policies,” Sinha stated.

The current regulatory regime allows foreign investors the same benefits in terms of exposure limits and margins as given to domestic entities, he said.