StanChart-ILFS Infra fund raises $640 million

Private equity fund manager, IL&FS Investment Managers, has raised $640 million for its infrastructure fund floated in joint venture with Standard Chartered Bank, a top official said today.

The Standard Chartered IL&FS Asia Infrastructure Growth Fund, plans to mop up a total of $800 million by December, IL&FS Investment Managers Managing Partner Krishna Kumar added.

"We have a handful of investors to contribute to this fund. It would invest in 15-18 projects in Asian markets," Kumar told reporters at a private equity summit here.        

The fund would invest in high-growth infrastructure assets in rapidly expanding Asian markets, primarily in India and China. It plans to make three investments in India, two in China and one in Malaysia besides other destinations, he added.        

Each investment will have an average size of $30-75-million and a maturity of 10-years.

Standard Chartered and IL&FS have committed a total of $300 million to the fund, according to IL&FS Investment Managers website.        

The fund has already built a portfolio of over $200 million of attractive seed assets, comprising operating toll roads and power plants, the website said.        

The fund team has access to nearly $2 billion in potential equity commitments, it said.