New Delhi, Jan 5 - India on Friday allowed global snack and beverages maker PepsiCo Inc to retain full ownership of its local bottling arm, and invest up to $50 million, a cabinet minister said.
At the time of Pepsi's initial investment in India, rules capped foreign holdings in the sector at 51 percent, and approval for the venture mandated the firm sell 49 percent of its local unit within the first five years of operations.
That deadline was later extended and when rules were relaxed to allow full foreign ownership in the food processing industry, Pepsi asked the government to amend the approval and waive the stake sale condition.
"(The government) gave its approval to the proposal .... to delete the condition of divestment and invest additional equity ... to the tune of $50 million," Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal told a news conference.