Foreign Institutional Holding is calculated as shares held by institutional investors based outside of India divided by the total shares outstanding of the company.
Foreign institutional investments are investments by foreigners in Indian securities including shares, government bonds, corporate bonds, convertible securities, infrastructure securities etc. The class of investors who make investment in these securities are known as Foreign Institutional Investors (FII). According to SEBI regulations, any equity investment by foreigners that is less than or equal to 10% of the capital of a company is called portfolio investment.
Investments by Non-resident Indians is not considered as FII investment.
A high FII stake in a company, especially by sovereign wealth funds, endowment funds etc, is considered to be an endorsement about the company’s prospects. These entities conduct extensive research about the prospects of the company and related sector before investing in the company for the long-term.