Govt clears 17 FDI plans worth Rs 122 cr

The government approved 17 foreign direct investment proposals on Tueday involving total inflow of Rs 122.3 crore (Rs 1.22 billion), including that of First Flight Couriers and Carlson Hotels.

The FDI projects approved by Finance Minister P Chidambaram included proposals of Starlight Real Estate, Quipo Telecom Infrastructure Kerstin Rohrig Bendrof, Amalgamated Plantations and DE Shaw Composite Investment, according to an official release.

Mumbai-based First Flight Couriers plans to induct 27.74 per cent equity by way of private placement from Dunearn Investment (Mauritius), entailing an inflow of Rs 4.12 crore (Rs 41.2 million).

The proposal of Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific entails setting up a joint venture Elbrus Builders Pvt Ltd for a hotel in Noida and involves an equity investment of Rs 2.6 crore (Rs 26 million).

The

JV also includes Unitech and Lavenders. Starlight Real Estate planned to bring Rs 42 crore (Rs 420 million) for establishing a holding company for investing in various projects such as hotels, hospitals and special economic zones, while Shantha Biotechnics sought foreign investment to undertake activities related to DNA-based biotech products.

The proposal of Amalgamated Plantations involves an inflow of Rs 35 crore (Rs 350 million) for giving 20 per cent stake to International Finance Corp by issuing fresh shares.

Other companies whose investment proposals were approved included Delta Energy Systems, Nord Drive Systems, Value Source Technologies, I-Velozity, Inverness Medical Innovations and Khanna Speciality Retail and Distributors. These proposals were recommended by Foreign Investment Promotion Board to Chidambaram for final approval.