Individual ceiling of FIIs to invest in debt securities raised

Mumbai, Jun 7 (UNI) The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has enhanced to USD 200 million the individual ceiling of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to invest in Indian debt securities.

The move is an attempt to avoid concentration of risk in the debt market.

The SEBI has said that the enhanced limits will be allocated to FIIs on a ''first-come-first-serve basis''.

FIIs wishing to take advantage of the enhanced limit will have to make their applications to SEBI by June 16, and the first few entities to apply before the total cap of USD 8 billion is reached will be allocated the debt.

Incidentally, the existing limit has not been utilised and SEBI's move has come at a time when interest in government securities has waned resulting in the yield on 10-year bonds inching up to 8.25 per cent.

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