Budget 2019: Big boost for foreign investors! KYC norms for FIIs, FPIs to be simplified

Budget 2019: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her maiden Budget 2019 budget speech said that the Existing Know Your Customer (KYC) norms for Foreign Portfolio Investors will be rationalised and simplified to make it more investor-friendly. She said that the investments made by the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and foreign portfolio investors (FPI) in securities issued by infrastructure debt funds and

NBFCs "to be transfered/sold to domestic investors with specified lock-in periods". "We plan to streamline KYC to make it more investor-friendly. It is important to ensure hassle-free experience to foreign portfolio investors," the minister said.  

She said that the corporate debt market is crucial for the infrastructure sector and to deepen the corporate debt market, a number of measures have been taken up. She said that, "The government will work with the RBI and SEBI to allow stock exchanges AA-rated bonds are as collateral." 

The Finance Minister also said that other measures will also be taken to strengthen the bond and debt markets. "To provide NRIs seamless to Indian equities, NRI portfolio investment route to be merged with the foreign portfolio investment route," said the minister.