SEBI seeks details of investments from China into Indian stock markets

According to Mint, this is a fresh communication seeking such information from custodians, and a specific request for details of investments by Chinese Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) or where Chinese investors are the beneficiary is extremely rare.

In the report, the Mint said it has seen the communication which stated, "...Urgently provide list of FPIs whose beneficial owner is from China and list of FPIs whose beneficial owner is from Hong Kong..."

Initially, SEBI intended to increase scrutiny on fresh investments from China and other neighbours of India, but now it is looking at the existing investments, too.

After HDFC revealed on Sunday that People’s Bank of China (PBOC) raised its stake in the lender to 1.01% from 0.8% through open market purchases over a period of more than a year, the Mint report said that many started to raise concerns that some of these shares were susceptible to acquisition through open market purchases through FPIs.

A total of Chinese FPIs are registered in India with $1.1 billion investment in top-tier stocks, the report said, adding that the information about the exact Chinese investment through direct and indirect (beneficial ownership) route is not available in the public domain.

SEBI and the depositories in India can disclose on top 10 jurisdictions that invest in India and China is not one of them, said the report.