Worldwide: Fund Management/ REITs

On a proposed resolution, Sixty investors say nothing. Thirty say yes. Ten say no. Depending on how you count, those same numbers read as 90% approval, 75% approval, or a 30% approval that doesn’t clear the bar at all.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has introduced new guidelines allowing Alternative Investment Funds to retain cash for unresolved legal or tax liabilities while significantly reducing compliance requirements. These rules create an 'Inoperative Fund' status that enables funds to enter dormancy without maintaining expensive regulatory structures, addressing the operational gridlock where commercially finished funds remained legally open due to pending disputes.

If you run a privately pooled fund in India today, you have probably run into the limits of the structures currently available. A trust, a company or a limited liability partnership can each house a fund, but none was built for one, and each leaves a gap. In a company, capital cannot move freely; returning it to investors needs a court-approved reduction or a limited buy-back. Further, none offers statutory ring-fencing for multiple strategies under one roof: protection between schemes rests on contract, not on the statute itself.

The Chennai Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, in the case of Sundaram Alternative Opp Series High Yield Secured Debt Fund rejected the tax officer’s attempt to re-characterise the Fund's investment income as business income and affirmed the tax exemption for the Fund.

For years, India-linked international financing transactions were routinely structured through offshore jurisdictions such as Singapore, Dubai, Mauritius or London. Whether it involved fund management, aircraft leasing, offshore debt, private credit or cross-border investment platforms, global capital often flowed into India through foreign financial centres rather than through India itself.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”), vide its circular dated April 8, 2026, has operationalised the mechanism for lock-in of pledged shares under the SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018 (“ICDR Regulations”), as part of its ease of doing business initiatives.

We are delighted to share this week's AKP Banking & Finance Weekly Digest. Please feel free to write to us with your feedback at info@akandpartners.in.

The Petitioner is engaged as a third-party service provider to M/s Hero MotoCorp Ltd for arranging travel...

We are delighted to share this week's AKP Banking & Finance Weekly Digest. Please feel free to write to us with your feedback at info@akandpartners.in.