FDI inflows in August jump to $3.26 b

Foreign direct investment inflows, in August last year, stood at US$ 2.32 billion, the Reserve Bank of India said in its bulletin. The country attracted US$ 3.51 billion foreign direct investment in July this year against US$2.25 billion in the same month last fiscal.

Portfolio investment in August also increased by 56.15 per cent to US$ 926 million compared to US$ 593 million, the bulletin said. The total foreign direct investment inflows during April-August, however, contracted by about 3.41 per cent to US$ 14.14 billion compared to the same period in 2008-09, due to poor accruals in the opening months of the fiscal. In the first five months of 2008-09, it was at US$ 14.64 billion.

During the first five months of this fiscal, portfolio investment increased to US$ 11.23 billion from US$4 billion in the same period last year. In 2008-09, the government had set a target of attracting US$ 35 billion FDI, but was able to receive only US$ 27.30 billion due the global financial crisis.