FIIs pump in Rs 9,000 cr in first week of September

FIIs helped push up benchmark BSE Sensex by 1.45% last week

Continuing their bet on the government's reforms agenda, overseas investors have poured in nearly Rs 9,000 crore in the Indian capital market in the first week of the month.

Net investments by foreign investors in the equity market were Rs 3,972 crore ($656 million) from September 1-5, while they infused a net amount of Rs 5,013 crore ($828 million) in the debt market during the period, taking the total to Rs 8,986 crore ($1.5 billion), as per the latest data.

Market analysts maintain that overseas investors (foreign Institutional Investors, sub-accounts or foreign portfolio investors) have been betting on the Indian market mainly on account of the reforms agenda of the new government at the Centre.

Also, they anticipate that inflows would continue in the coming months on slew of measures announced by the government.

Since the beginning of the year, foreign investors have made a net investment of Rs 1.9 lakh crore ($31.5 billion) into the country's securities market. This includes a net investment of Rs 82,307 crore in equities and Rs 1.07 lakh crore into debt market.

FIIs, the main driver of the equity market, have helped push up the benchmark BSE Sensex by 1.45% last week and is now moving above 27,000 level.

The strong inflows in the recent months have taken the cumulative net investments of FIIs into India to $202 billion, while their investments in rupee terms is Rs 9.8 lakh crore.

This is based on the data since November 1992 when the FIIs began investing into Indian markets and includes about $160 billion investments into equities and further about $41 billion in debt markets.

From the beginning of June, FIIs (Foreign Institutional Investors) along with sub-accounts and qualified foreign investors have been clubbed together by market regulator Sebi to create a new investor category called Foreign Portfolio Investors.