India tightens overseas investment checks

The State Bank of India>>> and India — Securities and Exchange Board of India>>> have intensified their scrutiny of overseas investments by firms and family offices in India>>>. This move comes as India>>>'s currency faces significant pressure from rising oil prices and foreign capital outflows. Regulators have issued at least 10 queries in the past three weeks to investigate potential misuse of investment routes, focusing on opaque structures, inflated valuations of offshore assets, and the use of Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) routes for private wealth management. The State Bank of India>>> is examining specific instances of family offices and corporate investment arms, while the India — Securities and Exchange Board of India>>> has slowed approvals for overseas structures and is flagging aggressive valuations. This enhanced oversight aims to calibrate remittances and prevent exacerbation of pressure on the currency and reserves, rather than to roll back legitimate cross-border expansion.