Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India -
Issue/Transfer of Shares or Convertible Debentures
- Revised pricing guidelines
Regulation 9 of the Principal Regulations read with A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 86 dated January 9, 2014 in terms of which optionality clauses have been allowed in equity shares and compulsorily and mandatorily convertible preference shares/debentures to be issued to a person resident outside India under the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) scheme subject to conditions mentioned therein.
3. The extant pricing guidelines in respect of transfer/issue of shares and for exit from investment in equity shares with or without optionality clauses of listed/unlisted Indian companies have since been reviewed so as to provide greater freedom and flexibility to the parties concerned under the FDI framework. The new pricing guidelines shall be as under:
(i) In case of listed companies
(a) The issue and transfer of shares including compulsorily convertible preference shares and compulsorily convertible debentures shall be as per the SEBI guidelines;
(b) The pricing guidelines for FDI instruments with optionality clauses shall continue to be in accordance with A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 86 dated January 9, 2014, i.e., the non-resident investor shall be eligible to exit at the market price prevailing on the recognised stock exchanges subject to lock-in period as stipulated, without any assured return.
(ii) In case of unlisted companies
The issue and transfer of shares including compulsorily convertible preference shares and compulsorily convertible debentures with or without optionality clauses shall be at a price worked out as per any internationally accepted pricing methodology on arm’s length basis. Thus, the guiding principle will be that the non-resident investor is not guaranteed any assured exit price at the time of making such investment/agreement and shall exit at a fair price computed as above at the time of exit subject to lock-in period requirement as applicable in terms of A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 86 dated January 9, 2014.
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