Indian govt has 54 Chinese investment proposals pending: Finance Minister

(Reuters) – The Indian government has received about 54 foreign direct investment proposals from China since last year that are pending for approval, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

“54 FDI proposals received during the past year and current year with investor/ beneficial owner from China/Hong Kong are pending for decision with government as on March 21, 2023,” Sitharaman informed lawmakers on Monday.

The Indian government is not considering easing restrictions put in place a few years ago on foreign investments from countries that share land border with India, Sitharaman said.

In 2020, India sought to limit investments from China as political tensions heightened between the two countries with its soldiers clashing at the disputed Himalayan region.

The restrictions called for beneficial owners of a country sharing a land border with India to seek its government’s approval for investments.

The step was taken to prevent hostile takeovers of Indian companies when the country was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)