India may soon allow 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail business

The government will soon come out with a notification allowing direct investment by foreign consumer brands for setting up retail chains in India, official sources said today.

The move will help global brands like Adidas, Nike, Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Gucci to own full-fledged retail networks in the country.

P K Chaudhery, secretary in the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), said the government will soon issue a notification allowing 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail business.

The decision to increase FDI in single-brand retail business was taken by the cabinet on 24 November, but it was forced to put the decision on FDI in multi-brand retail on hold by several political parties, including allies of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) like the Trinamool Congress.

Overseas consumer brands currently own a maximum of 51 per cent in their Indian operations, wit Indian partners owning the remaining 49 per cent.

Lifting of the investment cap will allow foreign luxury brands, mostly from countries like Italy, France, Switzerland, etc to set up fully-owned retail operations in the country.