On Saturday, three of the sources told that India is planning to fast track the review of some of the investment proposals from all the neighbouring countries such as China following concerns of new screening rules that might hit plans of companies and investors.
During the coronavirus outbreak to avoid all the opportunistic takeovers, India stated that this week all foreign direct investment from countries sharing a land border would need prior government clearance, which means that they can’t go through a so-called automatic route.
Advisers to all the Chinese firms have said that they are concerned with the process as they could take several weeks and hit deals and investment timelines. Mjor bets on India has beenj placed by auto firms such as SAIC’s MG Motor and Great Wall, and investors Alibaba and Tencent.
In New Delhi, the Chinese Embassy has called the new screening policy discriminatory.
One of the senior Indian government source who is involved in policymaking stated that New Delhi will be looking forward to approve any kind of investment proposal in a non-sensitive sector within 15 days when the stake being bought is not significant.
The official also stated that they will try to fast track investment proposals as soon as possible. It may be faster for some (sectors) and in others we might take some time.
Two of the other sources who are familiar with the government’s thinking have confirmed that a fast track mechanism was being considered, with possible approval timelines of seven days to four weeks.
Dipti Lavya Swain, who is a partner at Indian law firm HSA Advocates which is responsible for advising the Chinese companies, stated that different sectors such as telecoms, financial services and insurance were likely to be deemed more sensitive in comparison to others such as automobiles and renewable energy.