NIIF raises ₹19,000 crore in first close of second infrastructure fund | Economy & Policy News

The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) announced it has raised Rs 19,000 crore (around $2 billion) in the first close of its second infrastructure fund, surpassing 60 per cent of its Rs 30,000 crore target size.

The alternative asset manager said in a statement that the first close is anchored by the Government of India and supported by a high-quality investor base spanning sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurance companies and leading Indian financial institutions.

“Global institutional investors include AustralianSuper; CPP Investments; a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA); Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan; and Temasek; alongside leading Indian institutions including ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Life Insurance and HDFC Life Insurance,” NIIF said.

Alongside the fund, NIIF expects to mobilise around Rs 9,000 crore ($950 million) in co-investment capital, enabling investors to participate at scale in select transactions and further deepening NIIF’s role as a partner of choice for institutional capital seeking exposure to Indian infrastructure.

“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,” said Sanjiv Aggarwal, managing director and chief executive officer, NIIF.

He added that India’s infrastructure build-out is creating opportunities at scale, and NIIF can connect global and domestic institutional capital with high-quality businesses.

Infrastructure Fund II builds on NIIF’s first infrastructure fund, which raised Rs 16,000 crore ($2.34 billion) and has invested across renewables, transmission, distribution, battery storage, roads, ports and logistics, airports, data centres and smart metering.

NIIF said it has the ability to originate, build, operate and realise value from infrastructure businesses, including through completed and announced exits across its investments in renewables, road assets and smart metering.