2,500 fresh FPIs register with Sebi in April-Feb FY16

More than 2,500 new Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have registered with regulator Sebi in the first eleven months of 2015-16 amid sluggish market condition. According to the latest data from Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the capital markets had witnessed 1,444 newly registered FPIs in the entire 2014-15 fiscal. A total of 2,548 additional FPIs got approval from Sebi during April-February, taking the total number of such investors to 3,992, analysis of the data showed. FPIs have pulled out over Rs 14,000 crore from stock markets in the entire past fiscal after pumping in a staggering Rs 1.11 lakh crore in the entire 2014-15. Meanwhile, BSE's benchmark Sensex plunged by 9.36 per cent last fiscal.

In a major revamp, Sebi in 2014 had released norms that had clubbed different categories of foreign investors into a new class called FPIs. Under the new regime, FPIs have been divided into three categories as per their risk profile and the KYC (know your client) requirements, while other registration procedures have been made simpler for them. FPIs are granted a permanent registration, as against the earlier practice wherein approvals were granted for one year or five years to the overseas entities seeking to invest in Indian markets. The registration remains permanent unless suspended or cancelled by the board or surrendered by the FPI.