SREI eyes more JVs

SREI Infrastructure Finance Limited, which recently entered into a a 50:50 joint venture (JV) with BNP Paribas Lease Group (BPLG), the leasing arm of BNP Paribas, for managing the asset finance and insurance broking businesses, plans to take up new projects worth up to Rs 10,000 crore in the current fiscal along with the joint venture company.

The JV would finance projects worth Rs 7,000 crore while Rs 3,000 crore would be invested by the parent, SREI Infrastructure Finance. Sunil Kanoria, director of Srei Infrastructure Finance, said he expected 50 per cent growth in equipment finance business by the year-end.

Srei would look out for investment opportunities in areas like roads, port, power, oil and gas, renewable energy and telecom. Srei had JVs in infrastructure projects with companies, as a co-sponsor, in project costing nearing Rs 8,000 crore.

Srei's stake in the JVs ranged between 26 and 49 per cent.

Srei launched a subsidiary called Srei Infocom for telecom advisory services and rural telephony, with initial corpus of Rs 1 crore. Srei had 51 per cent stake in the company, and the rest was with investors with expertise in the telecom sector.