July net FDI peaks at $7.35bn, best monthly flow in five years

Net foreign direct investment inflows jumped to $7.35 billion in July, the strongest monthly entry since May 2021’s $8.80 billion. On a gross basis the month recorded $14.58 billion, the third‑largest in the past six years, and the net and gross figures were 64 % and 24 % higher than in July 2025. The Reserve Bank of India released the data on Friday, noting that communication, financial and computer services together attracted more than four‑fifths of equity inflows. Mauritius, the United Arab Emirates and the United States supplied about 70 % of the equity money. The government’s chief economic adviser, V Anantha Nageswaran, warned that global conditions have shifted – higher world interest rates and better opportunities elsewhere mean capital may not flow in even if all policy boxes are ticked. To boost inflows the RBI kept its concessional swap window for foreign‑currency non‑resident bank deposits open, a move he described as “overwhelmingly successful”. The rupee closed at 95.82 per dollar, close to its all‑time low of 96.96. For the first four months of FY 2026‑27 net FDI reached $13.43 billion, up 38 % year‑on‑year, while gross FDI rose 13 % to $43.85 billion. Outward Indian investment also rose, with Indian companies sending $3.39 billion abroad – a 26 % jump – mainly to Singapore, the UK and the UAE, and focusing on financial, insurance, business services and manufacturing. Foreign investors repatriated $3.84 billion in July, 16 % less than a year earlier, but have still sold Indian stocks and bonds worth $6.54 billion so far in FY 2026‑27, adding to $16.59 billion sold in the previous fiscal year.