National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIF), on Thursday announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to promote Japanese investments in India.
NIIFL and JBIC are considering the establishment of a bilateral India-Japan Fund (IJF). The partnership is aiming for an investment of around $500-$700 million in the IJF, according to people aware of the development.
With investments from JBIC and the Indian government, the India-Japan Fund will make equity investments in environmental preservation and low carbon emission strategies.
IJF will also enhance cooperation between the two countries by investing in strategic partnerships between Japanese and Indian companies and promoting business collaboration across multiple sectors in India, NIIF said in a release.
Moreover, JBIC will consider providing debt financing under their “Global action for Reconciling Economic growth and Environmental preservation (GREEN)” initiative to investee companies of funds managed by NIIFL.
NIIFL is a collaborative investment platform for international and Indian investors, anchored by the Government of India. It manages over $4.3 billion of equity capital commitments across its three funds: Master Fund, Fund of Funds, and Strategic Opportunities Fund.
It is already an active investor in several sustainable and climatetech companies. Its portfolio includes Ayana Renewable Power, IntelliSmart Infrastructure, Ather Energy and the Green Growth Equity Fund.
“The climate sector and the energy transition in India will offer significant opportunities for investment and the India-Japan Fund, which is expected to be operational early next year, will participate in these opportunities and promote collaboration between Indian and Japanese companies,” said Sujoy Bose, managing director and chief executive officer, NIIFL.
“Through this partnership, we aim to support the economic and environmental cooperation between India and Japan, which should translate to increased investment by Japanese companies and investors into India,” Bose added.
In April 2022, NIIFL made its first investment in a venture capital company after it became a Limited Partner (LP) of YourNest Venture Capital’s latest fund. It was likely to invest $15 million in YourNest Venture Capital’s third fund, which is sized at $75 million.
Prior to this, NIIFL made investments in five other funds, which includes its commitment of Rs 1,080 crore in Everstone Capital-backed Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF), Rs 660 crore in HDFC Capital’s Affordable Real Estate Fund 2, Rs 878 crore in Multiples Private Equity’s third fund, Rs 125 crore in Somerset Capital Partner’s second healthcare fund and Rs 600 crore in Arpwood Partners first fund.