Number of FIIs in India crosses 1000

The number of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) crossed the 1,000 mark.

The total number of FIIs having their offices in India has now increased to 1,030. In the beginning of calendar year 2006, the figure was 813.

As many as 217 new FIIs opened their offices in India during the current calendar year. This is the highest number of registrations by FIIs in a year till date. The previous highest was 209 in 2005.

As many as 37 foreign entities registered with the market regulator till December 28, highest ever single month registrations by the FIIs since their entry into Indian market in 1993. In the last two months, 57 new FIIs opened their offices, while the last six months' figure was 102 as against 92 in 2005.

The net investments made by the institutions during 2006 was $9,185.90 million against $9,521.80 million in 2005.

In 1993, Pictet Umbrella Trust Emerging Markets' Fund, an institutional investor from Switzerland, was the only FII to enter the Indian market.

While in 1994, no new registrations were reported, between 1995 and 2003, an average of 51 new FIIs opened their shops in the country each year. The number of new registrations with the Sebi increased to 144 in 2004 and 209 in 2005.

Out of 1,030 FIIs from 42 different countries, as many as 388 FIIs are from the US, 167 from the Great Britain, 73 from Luxembourg, 51 from Singapore, 35 each from Australia and Hong Kong, 32 from Canada, 29 from Ireland, 27 from Netherlands, 25 from Mauritius, 22 from Switzerland and 20 from France.