Foreign Direct Investment from India-Ownership and Control of Joint Ventures Abroad

Ownership and Control of 'Joint Ventures' Abroad Sebastian Morris The phenomenon of foreign direct investments (FDI) from India is substantial and systematic enough to warrant attention. In this empirical study, the pattern and nature of control exercised by the Indian parents, local parties, and possible transnational capital and local-government equity participants is estimated and analysed. Indian control over }he 'joint ventures' is quite large, larger than what the average 30 per cent Indian participation may seem to indicate. There is little portfolio investment from Indian firms. Transnational capital based in India has hardly ventured abroad, yet indigenous capital when it had the entrepreneurial initiative has extensively collaborated with transnational corporations, chiefly in the larger ventures abroad. Collaborations with local governments have also helped the Indian parents to exercise control over large enterprises with much less financial commitment and with little interference from the governments.