22 new FIIs came calling in June

Twenty-two new foreign institutional investors have registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India in June.

This is the highest number of FII registrations in a month till date. The previous highest was clocked in July 2004, when twenty-one FIIs entered the local arena.

The total number of FIIs having their offices in India has now increased to 729. In the beginning of calendar year 2005, 637 FIIs had registered with Sebi.

Citigroup Asset Management, SG Option Europe, World Invest Emerging Markets Fund, Goldman Sachs and Co Profit Sharing Master Trust, Japan Trustee Services Bank and SG Option Europe are among the new FIIs that have got themselves registered in June.

Bank Morgan Stanley Ag, RIT Capital Partners Plc, Norges Bank, Lifespan Corporation, Banque Degroof Luxembourg SA, Pension Plan Of Hercules Incorporated and Equator Investment Funds ICVS were the other FIIs that registered with Sebi during June.

Seven FIIs from the US, four from the United Kingdom, two each from France and Ireland and one each from Belgium, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland have entered India last month.

In first six months of 2005, 92 new FIIs registered themselves with Sebi against 52 FIIs during the same period in 2004. The year 2004 saw 120 FII registrations.

Meanwhile, after being net sellers in the equity markets in the last two months, FIIs were net buyers in June. Their net purchases in June stood at $1.135 billion against a net sale of $261 million in May and $150 million in April.

In the first six months of current calendar year, their net purchases were $4.452 billion, 26 per cent more than $3.526 billion during the same period last year.

In the whole of 2004, FIIs bought $8.519 billion worth equity shares locally.