Government approves 5 FDI proposals in single brand retail sector

NEW DELHI: The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has approved five more foreign direct investment proposals for single-brand retail including those of luxury brand Louis Vuitton, Oppo Mobiles, Chumbak Design, Daniel Wellington and Actoserba Active Wholesale.

Louis Vuitton’s proposal is for addition of products while Actoserba Active Wholesale had applied for retailing products under its brand Zivame. Although the total investment expected from this batch of companies is not clear, Chumbak Design is expected to bring foreign inflows of $8.62 million and Daniel Wellington $10 million.

The department has now approved 17 single-brand retail proposals including these, worth nearly Rs 4,900 crore for food product and single-brand retail trading, including those of Amazon, Grofers and Urban Ladder. The single-brand trading applications approved so far also include Acer, Fossil India and Bally International.

Since the abolition of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), the DIPP is now the nodal department for all FDI proposals requiring government approval.

The secretaries of the industry department and the Department of Economic Affairs conduct a joint quarterly review of the status of FDI applications with each department.

The industry department has set timelines for each ministry to take a decision on each proposal within eight to ten weeks.

DIPP had more than 48 pending applications on single-brand retail and food retail following the abolition of FIPB.

While clearing the five applications, DIPP directed Diabu Diamond Tools to approach via automatic route since its proposal fell under manufacturing sector.

The company had sought post facto approval for conversion of shares against import of raw material.