Foreign FDI investment by Indian companies increased by 17 percent to $37.7 billion in calendar year 2024 from $32.29 billion last year. This reflects the growing strength of the country's corporate sector in adopting foreign ventures.
Overseas direct investment (OFDI) is equity investment, loans and guarantees issued to firms abroad. FDI involving equity investment is expected to increase by 40 per cent to $12.69 billion during 2024 from $9.08 billion in 2023.
Under the debt category, OFDI by Indian companies stood at $8.7 billion in 2024, up from $4.76 billion last year. Guarantees issued by Indian firms to foreign firms, including their own subsidiaries, declined to $16.29 billion in 2024 from $18.44 billion in 2023.
The $2.4 billion investment by construction and engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in its Saudi Arabian subsidiary L&T Hydrocarbon Saudi Company in February 2024 was the largest foreign investment by an Indian company this year.
According to L&T's exchange filings, the company won orders worth $4 billion from Saudi state-owned Aramco in FY24 for the gas company's expansion projects. L&T's power transmission and distribution arm has bagged “mega” orders worth between Rs 10,000-15,000 crore to expand and strengthen the power grid in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
According to the company statement, the recently placed orders relate to these interconnection-related ±500kV HVDC transmission links, two 380kV overhead transmission lines and a bulk supply 380kV gas insulated substation in Saudi Arabia and two large 400kV gas insulated substations in the UAE. .
The second largest foreign investment was made by Bharat Petroresources, a wholly owned subsidiary of state oil major Bharat Petroleum, which in August issued a guarantee of $669 million in favor of its international arm, BRPL International in the Netherlands.
Bharat Petroresources is engaged in oil and gas exploration and production assets overseas, including the development of a large hydrocarbon field in Brazil. Major deals also include a $629 million equity investment by healthcare technology company, Sagility India, in its US-based wholly owned subsidiary, Sagility (US) Holding.
Other large transactions due in 2024 include a $385 million guarantee issued by Adani Ports and SEZ for its joint venture in Israel, Mediterranean International Ports ADGD, and a $440 million loan by Tata Steel to T Steel Holdings Singapore. The countries where Indian companies have invested include Singapore, America, Britain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman and Malaysia.
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