An India infrastructure fund being raised by Global Infrastructure Partners has passed the US$7 billion mark, making it the nation’s largest ever for the sector, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal on Thursday (August 2), as India was sunk into widespread blackouts amid infrastructure failures. The fund declined to comment while fundraising remains active.
Meanwhile, Reliance Mutual Fund is planning to launch a mammoth India infrastructure debt fund, the IDF, with each unit to be priced at 100,000 rupees ($1,800). The fund will mainly target the long-term funds of the super-wealthy, as well as local institutions, foreign institutional investors, and corporate investors.
“We are excited about the product. The infra debt fund has the potential to be a big product category in itself in the coming years. It will benefit both the mutual fund industry and companies engaged in the development of infrastructure,” Sundeep Sikka, chief executive of Reliance Mutual Fund was quoted as saying in India’s Business Standard, adding that “it would help in the objective of channelising the country’s household savings into productive assets.”
“There is a lot of interest in this kind of focused investment. Since infrastructure stocks are doing badly, it is not easy for the companies in this sector to raise equity now. The companies are ready to raise debt at a much higher rate,” Surjeet Mishra, national head-mutual funds, Bajaj Capital, a national distributor was quoted as saying in the Business Standard.
