Indian firms’ overseas investment stock jumped 40.8% to ₹16.71 lakh crore by March 2026. UAE surged to No. 2, but this is stock value, not fresh cash.
Updated: 7 November 2026, 10:30 IST
Quick Read
- Indian companies’ total stock of overseas investment stood at ₹16.71 lakh crore at end-March 2026, up 40.8% in a year, per RBI data.
- The UAE grew 160% to ₹2,71,107 crore and overtook Mauritius, the UK and the US to become the second-biggest destination.
- The catch: this is the market value of old investments, not new money sent abroad. Stock, not flow.
Indian companies now hold ₹16.71 lakh crore of investments abroad. That is the stock of overseas direct investment — ODI — at the end of March 2026, up 40.8% in a single year, per Reserve Bank of India data reported by the Indian Express on 6 November.
Read that number the right way, or it will mislead you. This is stock, not flow. It is the value of everything Indian firms already own abroad — factories, shares, loans, guarantees — not fresh money sent out this year. Most of the jump comes from old assets rising in value, not from a spending spree.
UAE jumps to No. 2
The headline inside the numbers is the UAE. Money held in the UAE grew 160% to ₹2,71,107 crore, per the Indian Express report. The UAE is now the second-biggest destination for Indian overseas investment, overtaking Mauritius, the UK and the US.
Singapore stays No. 1 at ₹3,52,822 crore. Mauritius is third at ₹2,54,927 crore, the UK fourth at ₹2,08,380 crore, and the US fifth at ₹2,03,940 crore.
Our own maths on the top five: Singapore (₹3,52,822 crore) is about 1.3 times the UAE (₹2,71,107 crore), and the UAE is about 1.06 times Mauritius (₹2,54,927 crore). The gap between No. 2 and No. 3 is small — ₹16,180 crore. Together the top five destinations hold about ₹13.91 lakh crore, or 83% of all the stock. The money is concentrated in a handful of places.
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Who is investing, and in what?
Finance and insurance firms hold the biggest share of the overseas stock, at 25%. Manufacturing holds 23.4%. The rest is spread across other sectors.
Geography tells a similar story of concentration. Asia and Africa together account for 68% of the total stock. Within Africa, Mauritius and South Africa are the biggest hosts — Mauritius alone accounts for about 15% of the total stock, and South Africa about 6%.
That Mauritius figure deserves a pause. Mauritius is a small island economy, yet it holds more Indian investment stock than the entire United States. The reason is history, not size: Mauritius has long been a route for Indian companies to set up holding companies, because of tax treaties. The money sits there, even if the real business is somewhere else.
The return money: inward investment
The RBI numbers cut both ways. Foreign firms’ investments in India also grew, and fast. Inward ODI stock stood at ₹68.12 lakh crore at end-March 2026, up 28.3% in a year. That is about four times the outward stock.
Two details stand out in the inward numbers. First, 80% of the inward stock is equity — foreigners actually owning shares in Indian companies, not just lending. Second, that inward stock grew in value by 27.2% in a year, even though the share of new equity coming in was only 0.3%. Again, rising values of old assets explain most of the growth, not a flood of new money.
Stock vs flow: the key distinction
Here is the one idea to carry away. Stock is what you already own. Flow is new money sent this year. The 40.8% jump is mostly a stock rise — old assets worth more — so it does not mean Indian companies sent 40% more money abroad this year.
The UAE’s 160% jump fits the same pattern. The UAE has become the favoured home for holding companies and family offices, so values have risen as more assets sit there. That is real, and it matters, but it is not the same as Indian companies building ₹2.71 lakh crore of new factories in the Gulf.
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What it means for you
For most readers, the direct effect is small. This is big-company balance-sheet news. But two signals matter. One, Indian firms are building a global footprint, and the UAE is now the second home of that footprint. Two, foreign investors still hold four times more in India than Indian firms hold abroad — India remains a destination, not just a source.
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FAQ
How much do Indian firms hold abroad?
₹16.71 lakh crore at end-March 2026, up 40.8% in a year, per RBI data reported by the Indian Express. That is the total stock of overseas direct investment, not new money sent in one year.
Which is the biggest destination?
Singapore is No. 1 at ₹3,52,822 crore. The UAE is now No. 2 at ₹2,71,107 crore after growing 160%, overtaking Mauritius, the UK and the US.
How much do foreign firms hold in India?
₹68.12 lakh crore at end-March 2026, up 28.3% in a year — about four times the outward stock. 80% of that inward stock is equity.
Desk-original added context
Our own maths: the top five destinations — Singapore ₹3,52,822 crore, UAE ₹2,71,107 crore, Mauritius ₹2,54,927 crore, UK ₹2,08,380 crore, US ₹2,03,940 crore — total ₹13,91,176 crore, about 83% of the ₹16.71 lakh crore stock. Inward stock of ₹68.12 lakh crore is about 4.1 times outward stock of ₹16.71 lakh crore. And the UAE’s ₹2,71,107 crore is only ₹16,180 crore ahead of Mauritius’s ₹2,54,927 crore — No. 2 is a close race. Our own timeline: end-March 2025 — the base year; end-March 2026 — ₹16.71 lakh crore; 6 November 2026 — the Indian Express reports the RBI figures.
Sources
- The Indian Express — Indian firms’ overseas investment stock jumps 40.8% to Rs 16.71 lakh crore, UAE second largest destination (primary: RBI figures, 200 verified)
- Moneycontrol — Indian firms’ overseas investment stock jumps 40.8% (corroboration, 200 verified)
- The Economic Times — Indian firms’ overseas investment stock rises to Rs 16.71 lakh crore (corroboration, 200 verified)
Sasanka Sekhar Pradhan is the founder of India Presents, an India-focused news site. He covers daily box-office trackers, India news, economy explainers, sports previews and festival guides — in simple English, so readers across India can follow fast-moving stories without jargon. His focus is what a story means for the reader: the number that matters, the source behind it, and what happens next. India Presents publishes daily, with day-trackers updated as new figures come in.
