Tata plans $1bn infrastructure fund(2)

Tata Realty and Infrastructure (TRIL), the real estate and infrastructure development arm of Indian conglomerate Tata Group, intends to raise $1 billion for a real estate and infrastructure fund before the end of this year.

The fund will focus on infrastructure projects such as airports, urban infrastructure, roads and bridges as well as commercial and residential real estate, according to TRIL’s website. It began raising capital in mid-2008, said Indian daily Livemint.

TRIL was not available for comment at press time.

The firm is in talks with investors from Europe, the US and Japan as well as strategic partners for long-term infrastructure projects, Sanjay Ubale, managing director and chief executive officer at TRIL, told Livemint.  

TRIL has a net worth of INR10 billion ($210 million; €151 million) and can leverage itself to set up projects worth up to INR120 billion, Kishore Saletore, the firm chief financial officer, said in the report.

TRIL intends to develop projects worth INR200 billion in India over the next three years. Of the INR 200 billion, INR110 billion would be invested in real estate, INR50 billion in roads and INR40 billion in other infrastructure, excluding India’s Monorail and Metro projects, the firm said.

To fund the real estate projects, TRIL has raised the approximately $700 million Tata Realty Initiatives Fund. This fund has deployed 18 percent of its capital, Ubale told Livemint.

Earlier this week, the board of Reliance Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Indian company Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, approved the issue of 42.9 million preferential shares to raise approximately INR43 billion ($919 million; €657 million). The capital will enable the company to participate in larger infrastructure projects in the country.