Alternative investment funds (AIFs) have not seen any significant redemptions from financial institutions even though the 30-day timeline provided by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to liquidate their holdings or make full provisions ends recently. Sources said the industry is awaiting certain relaxations or extensions based on the recommendations submitted to the banking regulator. On December 19, the RBI restricted financial institutions and banks from investing in AIFs where there is any downstream link or exposure to a debtor firm.
The Indian economy has witnessed the creation of 28 unicorns, or startups valued over $1 billion, this year on the back of a series of reforms unleashed by the government, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. Addressing a virtual conference organised by the Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (IVCA), the minister said the Indian economy has witnessed a spur of unprecedented growth in the form of startups in the last two decades. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has recognised more than 56,630 startups across districts throughout India, IVCA said in a statement quoting the finance minister.
Not just from the likes of Alibaba and Didi Chuxing, Indian startups saw a surge in Chinese funding from financial investors in 2019. This is a seven-fold jump from $459 million in 2016.
A 15 per cent corporate tax rate for services companies in SEZs, setting up a fund for deep-tech startups and establishing clusters to demonstrate design-to-manufacturing capabilities of tech firms were some of the key demands made by the IT sector at the pre-Budget consultation on Monday. The participants shared their views and suggestions regarding Big Data, incentives for encouraging setting up of data centres, fiscal incentives for data localisation, incentives for pushing digital penetration in rural areas, and corporate guarantee to startups for competing with other nations.
The investor community says the move by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to bring angel funds under the Alternative Investment Funds Regulations is a mix of good and negatives.
Albeit muted for most part of the year, Deal Street in India has clocked M&As worth $29 billion in 2014 and expects the size to get larger with transactions worth over $40 billion in the New Year.