Shourie approves 22 FDI plans

NEW DELHI: Commerce and industry minister Arun Shourie today approved 22 proposals for foreign direct investment (FDI) worth Rs 46 crore, as per the Foreign Investment Promotion Board’s (FIPB) recommendations.
The major investment proposals cleared by the minister include Great Eastern Energy Corporation’s proposal for issuance of shares worth Rs 20 crore of its new collaborator in a coal-bed methane venture, Mumbai-based FELCRA Commodities’ proposal to increase the equity stake of its Malaysian parent to 75%, involving FDI of Rs 3.6 crore and Hyderabad-based drug company Devi Labs’ proposal to increase foreign equity to 28.40% by infusion of Rs 3.45 crore from an unidentified source.
An industry ministry statement indicated that Great Eastern will float a new company, Covanta Energy India, in which it will have 50:50 equity participation with New Jersey-based CMB Investments through its Mauritius arm. FELCRA’s proposal pertains to a project for wholesale trading of palmolein. Other proposals cleared are from sectors such as software development, chemicals and petrochemicals and engineering and electronic components, the ministry has said.