Rs 484 cr FDI plans cleared

The government today approved 21 foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals worth Rs 484.204 crore. This includes Infrastructure Development Finance Co Ltd's proposal to raise about Rs 404 crore by issuing fresh equity and transferring shares to non-resident Indians.

IDFCL plans to raise Rs 403.6 crore through this route and wants shared to be transferred also to foreign institutional investors and multilateral and bilateral development financial institutions, an official statement said.

The government also cleared the Rs 25-crore proposal of the US-based Solae Llc to set up a wholly owned subsidiary in Gurgaon, Haryana, to manufacture, import and export isolated soy protein, soy concentrates, textured soy protein and specialty soy nutrition ingredients.

Also approved was the Rs 22.5 crore proposal of Belgian company Corsendonk NV.

The firm wants to invest in the Hyderabad-based Corsendonk Consultants for trading activities.

The proposals, approved by Finance Minister P Chidambaram on the recommendations of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), mainly relate to agriculture, food processing, and information technology.

The government also permitted IL&FS Investment to issue fresh shares and transfer shares to eligible non-resident Indians, and to undertake non-banking financial activities.

It has also permitted NTT Communications to invest Rs 8 crore and set up a 100 per cent arm in India to undertake trading activities. The Indian entity will provide technical support to customers and sales activities in India.