Canadian pension fund eyes infra investment opportunity in India

Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is eyeing infrastructure investment opportunities in India and intends to fund the net-zero transition journey of Indian firms.

CDPQ has to date, invested Canadian $8 billion in India across infrastructure, real estate, public markets, fixed income, and private equity sectors.

Senior adviser of CDPQ Global, Kenneth Juster, said that there is great potential for investments in India. The government has been prioritising infrastructure development and aims to increase the ease of doing business in India.

Managing Director of CDPQ India, infrastructure, South Asia and the Middle East, Saurabh Agarwal, said that the pension fund wants to focus on building partnerships and platforms to invest and reinvest large sums of capital over the long-term instead of investing in single assets. It also means that environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) and sustainability are fundamental pillars of its investment strategy.

Through the platforms, CDPQ is investing from greenfield to brownfield projects in infrastructure and from stress to performing credit in fixed income.

The pension fund has also set up a platform for investments in roads known as Maple Highways, which is in the process of acquiring three operating assets, one under the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAIs) Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) model.

Agarwal said that the company is also exploring investment partnerships in sectors like fibre, towers, and data centres.

Juster said that CDhttps://www.constructionworld.in/latest-construction-news/real-estate-news/canada-pension-plan-investments-to-fund-rmz---s-office-space-development/26580PQ is also exploring the energy transition space in India. There is a significant opportunity in funding the transition phase for companies shifting from fossil fuels to renewables.

CDPQ is committed to working with India and providing capital to best-in-class energy companies to transition towards a greener economy. The pension fund has an envelope of capital reserved for funding energy transition businesses and can make investments into several businesses which are currently carbon-heavy but have a clear path towards achieving net-zero emissions.

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