Friday, July 8 2005 11:48 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram yesterday (July 7, 2005) cleared 28 foreign direct investment proposals worth Rs 204.82 crore including those of HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, General Motors and Ford Credit International.

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board has approved HSBC Investment Bank BV of Netherlands to invest Rs 130.80 crore in HSBC Securities India for carrying out operations as a non-banking finance company. Similarly, Standard Chartered has also got the go ahead to increase its NBFC activities.

Government also allowed auto giant General Motors to obtain royalty from its Indian arm. Ford Credit International, the finance arm of another US auto giant Ford, has been allowed to infuse 27 crore in its Indian joint venture with Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Asian Development Bank has been allowed to transfer share in the merged entity of State Bank of India (SBI) Gilts.