India's NIIF raises $2 billion in first close of second infrastructure fund

India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has raised $2 billion in the first close of its second infrastructure fund, backed by investors including AustralianSuper, CPP Investments, Temasek and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has raised $2 billion for its second infrastructure fund from marquee investors such as AustralianSuper, CPP Investments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Temasek amongst others, according to an official release.

Its second infrastructure fund has a target to raise $3.2 billion. The amounts already raised have marked the first close of the fund.

“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. 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. We are grateful to the Government of India, our anchor investor, and to our global and Indian partners for their continued trust,” said Sanjiv Aggarwal, Managing Director & CEO, NIIF.

NIIF manages $7 billion in capital across investment strategies such as infrastructure, private markets, growth equity and climate investments.

“Our second infrastructure fund builds on the strong performance and operating capabilities established through our first fund. 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. 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,” said Vinod Giri, Managing Partner, Infrastructure, NIIF.

NIIF will also look to mobilize around $950 million for co-investment opportunities. These co-investment opportunities would create an avenue for NIIF’s investors to make direct equity investments in companies that they deem attractive.

The government of India has provided 49% of the capital out of the $2 billion raised for the second infrastructure fund.

NIIF’s first infrastructure fund had raised $2.34 billion (Rs. 16,000 crore). It invested in sectors such as renewables, transmission, distribution, battery storage, roads, ports and logistics, airports, data centres and smart metering.

Other investors who have contributed to NIIF’s second infrastructure fund are ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Life Insurance and HDFC Life Insurance and Ontario Teachers Pension Plan.