Inbound M&As in India: Issues and Challenges

The economic reforms of 1991 drastically transformed India’s approach toward foreign direct investment (FDI). The focus has been on attracting increasingly large amounts of FDI. There were no regulations on mergers and acquisitions for two decades, and when they were finally introduced in 2011 under the Competition Act, 2002, they were rendered ineffective by setting high thresholds, providing exemptions, and by narrowly focusing on competition. As a result, major domestic companies as also emerging leaders were taken over. Many foreign companies gained strong hold in the economy without adding capacities. The domestic private corporate sector lagged far behind in various respects. Belying the expectations of the policy makers, it invested far too inadequately in research and development. This article argues that India should not continue its reliance on FDI to achieve the goal of creating an internationally competitive manufacturing sector. India should do more than establishing an FDI review mechanism. Cross-border acquisitions must be subjected to strict scrutiny by a specialized agency. Proactive and coordinated measures must be devised to encourage domestic enterprises. Special attention must be given to providing long-term risk capital.