Economic Affairs Secretary to soon hold discussions with FPI representatives: Nirmala Sitharaman

New Delhi: The government on Monday said it will soon hold discussions with representatives of foreign portfolio investors, amid continuing overseas fund outflow from the markets following the decision to impose a surcharge on a certain class of such investors. Briefing reporters here, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said “nothing more” has been done on the proposed issuance of sovereign bonds apart from the announcement in the Union Budget. Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty would hold discussions with representatives of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) soon, the minister said. [caption id=“attachment_5044341” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. PTI[/caption] “I am quite open to hear them out what they (FPIs) have to say,” she added. FPIs pulled out Rs 2,881.10 crore from debt and equity segments on 1 and 2 August. In July, they had withdrawn a net amount of Rs 2,985.88 crore from the capital markets. In the 2019-20 Budget, the government decided to increase surcharge from 15 percent to 25 percent on taxable income between Rs 2 crore and Rs 5 crore, and from 15 percent to 37 percent for income above Rs 5 crore. It would also be applicable for FPIs operating as trusts or as an association of persons. On a question related to sovereign bonds, Sitharaman said “nothing more has been done” apart from the announcement in the Budget as the ministry was busy in dealing with three bills, including an amendment to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The government has announced it would start raising a part of its gross borrowing programme from external markets in foreign currencies. India’s sovereign external debt-to-GDP level is among the lowest globally at less than 5 percent.