Sitharaman wants investors from other countries to join NIIF
The Japan Bank for International Development (JBIC) has signed a memorandum of understanding on 9 Nov 2022 with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL) for setting up “India Japan Fund”.
It is among the latest investment commitment in to the Indian Government-led NIIF which has attracted global and domestic investors, the Finance Ministry said on 17 Nov 2022 after Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had chaired the 5th Meeting of the Governing Council (GC) of NIIF.
The GC appreciated that the two infrastructure Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), where NIIF has majority stakes, have increased their combined loan book from Rs.4,200 crore to Rs.26,000 crore in 3 years without experiencing any non-performing loans (NPLs) till date.
The GC also guided NIIF to undertake advisory activities pro-actively to support central and state governments to create a pipeline of investible PPP projects.
Further, Sitharaman has asked the NIIFL team to build on the work done so far and leverage India’s attractive investment fundamentals to expand its operations.
She encouraged the team to continue discussions with investors from countries that are keen to invest in India.
The Minister exhorted the NIIFL team to explore opportunities under the National Infrastructure Pipeline, PM GatiShakti and National Infrastructure Corridor, which include a big pool of investible greenfield and brownfield investment projects, and to try and crowd in commercial capital into those opportunities.
The meeting updated on the NIIF progress over the last few years and key learnings from its investment operations were presented to the Governing Council.
The GC was apprised of the current status of the 3 funds that are currently managed by NIIFL – the Master Fund, the Fund of Funds (FoF) and the Strategic Opportunities Fund (SoF).
The GC was also updated on the status of fund raised, and the kind of investments that have been made.
The GC was informed about the investments and performance of NIIF operating companies in sectors such as ports and logistics, renewable energy and digital infrastructure besides its foray into sectors such as waste management, water treatment, healthcare, EV manufacturing. fiinews.com
