India says June qtr FDI inflows rise to $4.9 bln

NEW DELHI Aug 17 (Reuters) - Foreign direct investment into India almost trebled to $4.9 billion during the June quarter from a year earlier, boosted by large deals by Vodafone (VOD.L) and Matsushita Electric (6752.T), the trade minister said on Friday.

British telecoms firm Vodafone invested $801 million in India in the quarter through its Mauritius arm, Kamal Nath said in a statement. In February, Vodafone agreed to pay $11 billion for a controlling stake in mobile operator Hutchison Telecom.

Japanese firm Matsushita Electric invested in $342 million in the three months, the first quarter of India's fiscal year.

Dubai-based EMAAR Holdings invested $204 million through its Mauritius arm and LB India Holdings Mauritius Ltd. pumped in $118 million into India's booming real estate sector.

Mauritius remained the top source of FDI into India, accounting for $1.9 billion during the quarter, the minister said. Other leading sources of FDI were Japan, Cyprus, the United States and Singapore.

During January-June, FDI inflows were $11.4 billion, more than three times the $3.6 billion received a year earlier.

FDI inflows were $15.7 billion for the fiscal year that ended in March 2007, almost three times the level in 2005/06.