A Eurocurrency market is a money market that provides banking services to a variety of customers by using foreign currencies located outside of the domestic marketplace. The concept does not have anything to do with the European Union or the banks associated with the member countries, although the origins of the concept are heavily derived from the region. Instead, it represents any deposit of foreign currencies into a domestic bank. For example, if Japanese yen is deposited into a bank in the United States, it is considered to be operating under the auspices of the Eurocurrency market.

This market has its roots in the World War II era. While the war was going on, political challenges caused by the takeover of the continent by the Axis Powers meant that there was a limited marketplace for trading in foreign currency. With no friendly government operations within the European marketplace, the traditional economies of the nations were displaced, along with the currencies. To combat this, especially due to the fact that many American companies were tied to the well-being of business behind enemy lines, banks across the world began to deposit large sums of foreign currency, creating a new money market.

One of the factors that make the Eurocurrency market unique compared to many other money market accounts is the fact that it is largely unregulated by government entities. Since the banks deal with a variety of currencies issued by foreign entities, it is difficult for domestic governments to intervene, particularly in the United States. With the establishment of the flexible exchange rate system in 1973, however, the U.S. Federal Reserve System was given powers to stabilize lending currencies in the event of a crisis situation. One problem that arises is that these crises are not defined by the regulations, meaning that intervention must be established based on each case and the Federal Reserve must work directly with central banks around the world to resolve the matter. This adds to the volatility of the market.

Despite its name, the Eurocurrency market is primarily influenced by the value of the American dollar, since nearly two-thirds of all assets around the globe are represented by U.S. currency. The challenge with foreign banks revolves around the fact that regulations enforced by the Federal Reserve are really only enforceable within the U.S. The taxation level and exchange rate of the American dollar varies depending on the nation; for example, an American dollar in Vietnam is worth more than it is in Canada, further influencing the market.

FDI VS FII

- Both FDI and FII is related to investment in a foreign country. FDI or Foreign Direct Investment is an investment that a parent company makes in a foreign country. On the contrary, FII or Foreign Institutional Investor is an investment made by an investor in the markets of a foreign nation.

In FII, the companies only need to get registered in the stock exchange to make investments. But FDI is quite different from it as they invest in a foreign nation.

The Foreign Institutional Investor is also known as hot money as the investors have the liberty to sell it and take it back. But in Foreign Direct Investment, this is not possible. In simple words,

FII can enter the stock market easily and also withdraw from it easily. But FDI cannot enter and exit that easily. This difference is what makes nations to choose FDI’s more than then FIIs.

FDI is more preferred to the FII as they are considered to be the most beneficial kind of foreign investment for the whole economy.

Foreign Direct Investment only targets a specific enterprise. It aims to increase the enterprises capacity or productivity or change its management control. In an FDI, the capital inflow is translated into additional production. The FII investment flows only into the secondary market. It helps in increasing capital availability in general rather than enhancing the capital of a specific enterprise.

The Foreign Direct Investment is considered to be more stable than Foreign Institutional Investor. FDI not only brings in capital but also helps in good governance practises and better management skills and even technology transfer. Though the Foreign Institutional Investor helps in promoting good governance and improving accounting, it does not come out with any other benefits of the FDI.

While the FDI flows into the primary market, the FII flows into secondary market. While FIIs are short-term investments, the FDI’s are long term.

-A lot has been written on FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) and FII (Foreign Institutional Investor) already, and I found a great succinct explanation from Business Line explaining the difference between FDI and FII investments as one flowing into the stock market (FII) and the other flowing into the primary market (FDI), and all other differences emerging out of that one key point.

FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) is when a foreign company invests in India directly by setting up a wholly owned subsidiary or getting into a joint venture, and conducting their business in India.

IBM India is a wholly owned subsidiary of IBM, and is a good example of FDI where a foreign company has set up a subsidiary in India and is conducting its business through that company. What’s amazing about IBM is that, it is now the largest Indian IT company in India. It is serving Indian customers, and a large domestic market that was not tapped by the Indian players themselves.

Foreign companies partnering with Indian companies to set up joint ventures is more typical and Starbucks   partnering with Tata Global Beverages Limited is a recent example of FDI through joint venture, but there are several others in the insurance, telecom, food industry etc.

FII is when foreign investors invest in the shares of a company that is listed in India, or in bonds offered by an Indian company. So, if a foreign investor buys shares in Infosys then that qualifies as FII Investment.

It is easy to see why you would prefer FDI to FII investments. FDI investments are more stable because companies like IBM set up offices, hire employees, and have a long term plan for the country. IBM can’t just pull out a few million dollars from India overnight, which is what FII investors do from time to time and that leads to market crashes.

In India, attracting FII has been easier than FDI because of the policy uncertainty and procedural delays. An RBI study has the following para on FDI slowdown and it is easy to see how it is tied to the politics in the country.