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Venture Capitalists
India's Venture Capital (VC) ecosystem exhibited robust growth in 2024, with funding surging 43 per cent year-on-year to USD 13.7 billion, according to a report. This recovery was fuelled by a 45 per cent rise in deal activity, with 1,270 transactions recorded, reinforcing India's position as the second largest market for venture capital and growth funding in the Asia-Pacific region, the report by Bain & Company and IVCA said. "Small- and medium-ticket deals (< USD 50 million), which made up around 95 per cent of the deals, increased by 1.4x, whereas USD 50 million+ deals nearly doubled, rebounding to pre-pandemic levels as high-quality assets attracted deployments. Megadeals (USD 100 million+) also rebounded with 1.6x increase in volumes as investors backed high-quality companies that successfully weathered the two-year funding winter," it said. The report noted that the consumer technology, software and SaaS (including generative AI), and fintech sectors attracted over 60 per
Capital markets regulator Sebi on Tuesday cancelled the registration of 19 defunct FVCI (Foreign Venture Capital Investors) after they failed to meet the eligibility criteria. The 19 entities include Axis Capital Mauritius, Axis India Infrastructure Holdings, Blackstone Capital Partners (Singapore) VI FVCI Pte Ltd, P6 Asia Holding Investments (Cyprus) Ltd, Pequot India Mauritius IV, Ltd and Omega FVCI Investments Pte Ltd. In its order, Sebi noted that these defunct FVCI companies are no longer in existence as incorporated entities in their respective jurisdictions and thereby no longer satisfy the condition of being an entity incorporated outside India as stipulated in the FVCI Regulations. The regulator observed from the website of the Business Registration Department of Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore, that the status of 19 FVCIs in their parent jurisdictions was defunct. Additionally, the entities had not informed Sebi about the change in their regulatory status -- the entitie
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on Wednesday held consultations with pension funds, private equity and venture capitals on ways to attract more foreign direct investments into the country, an official said. The meeting was second in the line. Last week, the department held discussions with stakeholders, including law firms and industry chambers, on the matter. In that meeting, the issues being flagged by law firms included permitting e-commerce players to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in inventory-based models of online trade for export purposes only; easing press note 3 by defining beneficial ownership; and some tweaking the policy for single-brand retail trading. Under this press note, government approval is mandatory for investors from countries sharing land borders with India in any sector. FDI inflows into India have crossed the USD 1 trillion milestone in the April 2000-September 2024 period. The key sectors attracting the maximum
Markets regulator Sebi on Thursday issued operational guidelines for Foreign Venture Capital Investors (FVCIs) outlining procedures for registration, compliance, and investment activities Also, the Securities and Exchange Board of India has issued operational guidelines for Designated Depository Participants (DDPs). The guidelines are aimed at helping FVCIs and DDPs transition smoothly to the amended FVCI regime, which will come into effect on January 1, 2025. Under the guidelines, Sebi has outlined procedures for FVCI registration, compliance, and investment activities and also specified the role of DDPs. The regulator has set a deadline of March 31, 2025, for all existing FVCIs to engage with a DDP. Failing to do so will restrain FVCIs from making any new investments. "Existing FVCIs shall engage a DDP, to avail its services for conducting due diligence with respect to continuance of registration as an FVCI, by March 31, 2025. "Any FVCI failing to engage a DDP by March 31, 20
Capital markets watchdog Sebi has notified rules to streamline the framework for the registration of Foreign Venture Capital Investors (FVCIs). Under this, the process of granting registration to FVCIs and processing other post-registration references has been delegated to designated depository participants (DDPs) in line with provisions prescribed for FPIs (Foreign Portfolio Investors). An applicant seeking registration as an FVCI is required to engage a DDP to avail of its services for obtaining a registration certificate as FVCI and at all times the DDP and the custodian of the FVCI shall be the same entity. At present, the processing of applications for granting registration to FVCIs and related due diligence is carried out by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). "No person shall buy, sell or otherwise deal in securities as a foreign venture capital investor unless it has obtained a certificate granted by a designated depository participant on behalf of the Board
Investments in Indian entities by venture capital and private equity funds declined sharply to USD 2.7 billion in July this year, a report said on Wednesday. The bets were 42 per cent lower than USD 4.6 billion in the preceding month of June, and 35 per cent down from USD 4.1 billion in July last year, the report by industry lobby grouping IVCA and consultancy firm EY, said. Interestingly, the number of deals increased to 81 from 68 transactions in the year-ago period, indicating the deal sizes were down. "The second half of 2024 appears to have had a weak start. We expect PE/VC investors to take a cautious approach as concerns over global uncertainties, inflation and geopolitical tensions play out, influencing the confidence and willingness of investors to deploy additional capital," the firm's partner Vivek Soni said. He added that the budget has been a "net positive" for the sector, and added that the angel tax removal should stimulate investor interest in the start-up space. T
Capital markets regulator Sebi on Thursday proposed a revised format for filing compliance reports by Foreign Venture Capital Investors with regard to their activities. Under the rule, Foreign Venture Capital Investors (FVCI) are required to provide quarterly reports to Sebi in the format specified with respect to their venture capital activities. "Recently, the Sebi board has approved amendments to FVCI Regulations which will be notified in due course. In this context, a need for revising the format for filing of compliance reports by FVCI has been felt," Sebi said in its consultation paper. As per the proposed revised format, FVCI are required to provide general information about them, including Sebi's registration number, date of grant of such registration, date of incorporation, country of incorporation, category of FVCI, and principal place of business. Additionally, they are required to provide details of directors, brief investment details of FVCI in India, industry-wise ...