New Delhi [India], August 31 (ANI): National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIF) reached the first close of NIIF Infrastructure Fund II at Rs 19,000 crore, or approximately USD 2 billion. According to NIFF, the first close represents more than 60 per cent of the overall Rs 30,000 crore target size.
Anchored by the Government of India, the fund received capital commitments from international and domestic institutional investors. Global participants include AustralianSuper, CPP Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, and Temasek. Indian institutional backers comprise ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Life Insurance, and HDFC Life Insurance.
NIIF stated that it expects to mobilise an additional Rs 9,000 crore in co-investment capital alongside the fund. This arrangement enables institutional investors to take part in select large transactions.
"Infrastructure Fund II reflects the continued confidence of our partners in India's infrastructure opportunity and in NIIF's ability to deploy long-term capital with discipline, sector expertise and strong governance," stated Sanjiv Aggarwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIIF.
"India's infrastructure build-out is creating opportunities at scale, and NIIF is well positioned to connect global and domestic institutional capital with high-quality businesses," Aggarwal added.
"We are grateful to the Government of India, our anchor investor, and to our global and Indian partners for their continued trust," Aggarwal noted.
Infrastructure Fund II will continue to invest across core infrastructure sectors including energy, transport and digital infrastructure, while expanding into emerging themes such as urban infrastructure and electric mobility
"Our second infrastructure fund builds on the strong performance and operating capabilities established through our first fund," said Vinod Giri, Managing Partner, Infrastructure, at NIIF.
"We will continue to create infrastructure platforms at scale, take a hands-on approach to value creation and invest selectively across both established and emerging infrastructure sectors," Giri stated.
"With a strong pipeline already in place, we see significant opportunities to deploy capital where NIIF can bring sector expertise, operating capability and execution at scale," Giri added.
The strategy builds directly upon NIIF's predecessor infrastructure vehicle, which raised Rs 16,000 crore. That fund deployed capital across renewables, power transmission, distribution, battery storage, roadways, ports, logistics, airports, data centres, and smart metering, while also executing asset exits in roads, renewables, and smart metering. (ANI)
NIIF Infrastructure Fund II reaches Rs 19,000 crore first close with institutional and government backing
