Sebi weighs direct market access for foreigners
At present, such individuals can buy into India's primary and secondary markets only through the foreign portfolio investor (FPIs) route.
The proposal was discussed last week at a meeting attended by the top Sebi management and some key market participants. Discussions are still preliminary. Any change in investment rules would require the permission of the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Sebi officials and market participants at last week's meeting underscored the need to expand the investor base for Indian risk assets, despite a near-five-fold surge in local investor accounts to 190 million in February 2025, from about 39 million six years ago.
«Currently, foreign individuals can invest in listed Indian securities through the Category II FPI route, using a local sub-custodian in India,» said Rajesh H Gandhi, partner at Deloitte India. «If direct access is provided to individual investors outside the FPI framework by directly opening a brokerage account, it could ease compliance requirements for such investors and help broaden the investor base.» Category II FPIs include entities that can invest in Indian markets after registering with Sebi.
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If Sebi goes ahead with this proposal, it could pave the way for ultra-high net worth individuals from global money hubs of London, New York or Singapore to invest directly in Indian stocks, bypassing the currently mandatory intermediary fund structure.
Sebi did not respond to ET's queries.
India has been reluctant