Indian cabinet nod to foreign investment in AIFs
The Indian cabinet on Wednesday approved foreign investment in Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), a category of pooled-in investment vehicles for real estate, private equity and hedge funds, reports Bloomberg.
The move comes after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley promised in his Budget speech that rules will be liberalised to channel more foreign funds in AIFs.
The government intends to do away with different categories like Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for such investments with a view to making it easier for overseas investors to invest in AIFs.
AIFs are basically funds established or incorporated in India for the purpose of pooling in capital from Indian investors for investing as per a pre-decided policy.
Under Sebi guidelines, AIFs can operate broadly in three categories. The Sebi rules apply to all AIFs, including those operating as private equity funds, real estate funds and hedge funds.
