Beneficial Ownership: A Comparative Analysis

1. Introduction

1.1. Under changes to India's foreign direct investment regulations (the "FDI Regulations") with effect from April 22, 2020, (i) an investment by entities of a country which shares a land border with India or where the beneficial owner of an investment into India is situated in or is a citizen of any such country; and (ii) any transfer of ownership of any existing or future foreign direct investment in an entity in India, directly or indirectly, resulting in the beneficial ownership falling within this restriction, requires the prior approval of the Government of India (the "2020 FDI Amendment").

1.2. Effectively, investments from seven countries, including China, are impacted as there may be a delay in obtaining regulatory approval (or the investment may be rejected). These changes to the FDI Regulations require an assessment of, among other issues, the term "beneficial owner". Although the Government issued an updated version of the FDI