India allows direct buying of stocks by foreigners

[shalab]

This is a relaxation of the earlier restriction - this will allow retail investors to buy in directly through brokerage houses. This is welcome news for many investors around the world.

 

http://bit.ly/vyIDmD

 

But, there is some red tape:

 

The government said QFIs will include individuals, groups or associations, resident in a foreign country that is compliant with anti-money laundering forums such as the Financial Action Task Force and is a signatory to IOSCO's multilateral MoU.

 

In order to trade, a QFI will have to open a demat and a trading account with a qualified depository participant, and all transactions will have to be through this route. The depository has to ensure that the QFIs meet all know-your-customer ( KYC) and other regulatory requirements. The money will be routed through normal banking channels, with convertible currencies such as the dollar transferred to a depository's rupee pool bank account. Once the funds are received, the depository can carry out the transaction.

 

 

Under the arrangement, RBI will grant general permission to QFIs for investment under a portfolio investment scheme route that is similar to FIIs. To begin with, an individual QFI can hold up to 5% in a company, while all QFIs put together can have up to 10% stake. These limits are over and above those prescribed for FIIs and NRIs.

 

[stahleyp]

I thought this was worth a read, too.

 

http://www.valuewalk.com/2012/01/under-the-radar-indias-mid-cap-and-small-cap-equities/