P-Notes investment crosses Rs 1 lakh cr

The government on Friday said total value of Participatory Notes holding Indian shares was Rs 1,03,579 crore (Rs 1.03 trillion) at the May-end and there is no definite trend in the PNs issued since November.

Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, said that the amount is 16.6 per cent of Rs 6,24,488 crore (Rs 6.24 trillion), the total assets under management of Foreign Institutional Investors at the May-end.

"SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) has informed that there is no evidence of any definite trend in the PNs issued by the FIIs over the last seven months, i.e. from November 2008 to May 2009," the Minister said.

At the end of last November, the total value of PNs with underlying Indian securities was at Rs 70,980 crore (Rs 709.80 billion). However, as a percentage of the total assets under management of FIIs, it stood at 18.4 per cent.

SEBI-registered FIIs issue PNs, a derivative instrument, to other foreign investors who are not registered with the market regulator but wish to invest in Indian securities. They hold the securities on behalf of their clients.