August 7, 2019
The agreements include commitments of US$250 million each in the Master Fund and co-investment rights of up to US$750 million each in future opportunities alongside the Fund
With this, NIIF Master Fund becomes the largest infrastructure fund in India with assets under management worth over US$1.8 billion and a co-investment pool of US$2.5 billion
NIIF, anchored by the Government of India, is a platform for international and domestic investors that are keen on investing in commercially viable infrastructure projects in India
NIIF manages more than US$4 billion of capital commitments across three funds - the Master Fund, a Fund of Funds and Strategic Fund - focussed in high-growth economic areas
The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India said on August 6 that Australia’s largest superannuation fund, AustralianSuper, and Canada’s largest single-profession pension plan, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, have each signed agreements for investments of up to US$1 billion with the NIIF Master Fund. NIIF, anchored by the Government of India, is a platform for international and domestic investors that are keen on investing in commercially viable infrastructure projects across India. NIIF manages more than US$4 billion worth of capital commitments across three funds – the Master Fund, a Fund of Funds and Strategic Fund – focussed in high-growth economic area.
The agreements include commitments of US$250 million each in the Master Fund and co-investment rights of up to US$750 million each in future opportunities alongside the Fund. AustralianSuper and Ontario Teachers’ will now join the Government of India (GoI), Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Temasek, HDFC Group, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance and Axis Bank as investors in the fund. With their investments, AustralianSuper and Ontario Teachers’ will also become shareholders in National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd, NIIF’s investment management company. Last year, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) invested US$100 million in NIIF’s Fund of Funds.
The latest investments have made NIIF Master Fund the largest infrastructure fund in India with assets under management of over US$1.8 billion and a co-investment pool of US$2.5 billion. This will enable the Fund to invest at the scale required for the large infrastructure requirements in India. The Fund invests in equity capital in core infrastructure sectors in India with a focus on transportation, energy and urban infrastructure. The Master Fund, has a tenure of 15 years and is denominated in Indian Rupees to suit the requirements of the infrastructure sector. India’s burgeoning infrastructure market is among the largest in Asia, which has presented many high-margin opportunities for investment.