India receives $15-bn foreign investment in Apr-June

Signs of India's economic recovery appears to have raised the confidence among foreign investors with the flow of foreign investment surging five times in the April-June quarter.

As against a flow of nearly $3 billion in the preceding quarter of Jan-March, the direct and portfolio investments flow together rose sharply to $15 billion during April-June this year, data released by RBI revealed.

Of the total investment flows during the quarter, portfolio investments accounted for $8.270 billion, while direct inflows contributed $7.016 billion to the total flows, Reserve Bank data showed.

In the three months ended March, 2009, total inflows into the domestic market was a mere $3.589 billion.

Foreign fund inflows had sharply declined in FY09 after the global financial turmoil triggered panic among foreign institutional investors, prompting them to pull out money from emerging markets.

While the country received a total investment of $61.633 billion in 2007-08, for the full financial year ended March 31, 2009, total investments dropped to $21.313 billion.

Of the total fund flows that reached the country in 2008-09, direct investment contributed $35.168 billion while portfolio investments posted a negative flow of $13.855 billion.