NIIF Likely To Raise $1 Bn, Aims To Launch Its Second Fund
NIIF is also planning to launch its first InvIT for its road assets, with a portfolio worth around USD 2 billion. It intends to raise USD 500 million in expansion capital from both global and domestic investors
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According to media report, the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), the state-backed investment fund, aims to launch its second fund-of-funds (FoF) to generate USD 1 billion to invest in the funds of local asset managers.
The second FoF will be prepared and presented to shareholders for approval soon. The idea for the new mega fund comes amid rumours that NIIF’s managing director and CEO, Sujoy Bose, who has been at the helm since its formation in 2016, may step down.
NIIF’s inaugural FoF attracted USD 600 million in commitments, with the goal of investing in up to ten private equity funds operated by experienced fund managers in India. A FoF seeks to raise capital and invest it in other funds rather than directly in assets. The FoF is able to diversify its portfolio and disperse risk across asset classes, industries, and markets as a result.
In the case of NIIF, each of its portfolio funds will invest in Indian enterprises in a variety of sectors such as green infrastructure, affordable housing, infrastructure services, agri-business, healthcare, and education. So far, FoF Fund I has committed to investing 90 per cent of its corpus across seven funds, the most recent of which is Lighthouse India Fund IV AIF, in which it intended to invest 400 crore in January.
The NIIF FoF is one of the major India-specific fund-of-funds projects.
NIIF’s FoF I, which was launched in 2018, is government-backed and has garnered commitments from multilateral organisations such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Asian Development Bank, and New Development Bank.
Other overseas limited partners (LPs) include US International DFC, AustralianSuper, Temasek in Singapore, and Canadian pension funds such as CPP Investments, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and PSP Investments. Housing Development Finance Corp., ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and State Bank of India are its domestic LPs.
NIIF is also planning to launch its first InvIT for its road assets, with a portfolio worth around USD 2 billion. It intends to raise USD 500 million in expansion capital from both global and domestic investors.
It has created a portfolio that includes assets like as Shapoorji Pallonji Group’s SP Jammu-Udhampur Highway and Hindustan Ports, among others, with the most recent bet on GMR Goa International Airport.
