India's outward FDI falls 33% sequentially to $1.2 bn in Aug: RBI data

Debt commitment falls to $269.3 mn in August from $607.5 mn in July

India’s outward foreign direct investment (FDI) fell sequentially to $1.21 billion in August, declining 33.3 per cent compared to over $ 1.82 billion in July.

According to data from the Reserve Bank of India year-on-year (YoY), outward investments were sharply down when compared to $9.76 billion in August 2022.

After declining for two months, outward FDI increased sequentially to $1.8 billion in July 2023 compared to $1.07 billion in June to mark a rise of 73 per cent.

Outbound FDI, expressed as financial commitment, has three components: Equity, loans, and guarantees. A slowdown in economic and business activities, especially in developed markets, has impacted direct investment flows, both inbound and outbound, bankers said.

Getting into the components of outbound FDI, the equity commitment rose marginally to $454.6 million in August 2023 from $452.3 million in July. It was much lower than the $7.71 billion in August 2022.

Debt commitment declined to $269.3 million in August from $607.5 million in July. It was also lower compared $ 1.38 billion in August 2022.

The guarantees for overseas units declined to $494.7 million in August from $769.1 million in July. It was down compared to $672.9 million a year ago, RBI data showed.