Sujoy Bose appointed CEO of NIIF

For India's maiden Rs 40,000 crore sovereign wealth fund

Senior IFC official Sujoy Bose was on Monday appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of India's maiden Rs 40,000 crore sovereign wealth fund National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).

He is Director and Global Co-Head of Infrastructure and Natural Resources at Washington-based International Finance Corporation (IFC). IFC is the private sector lending arm of the World Bank.

An official statement on Monday said Bose "has been appointed as the CEO of NIIF Ltd", adding that he has "extensive international experience in the infrastructure sector including experience in raising funds from international investors".

A search-cum-selection committee was constituted under the chairmanship of economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das for the selection of CEO of NIIF Ltd.

"Bose has been appointed as CEO following the conclusion of the selection process," the statement said.

The government set up NIIF to attract investment from both domestic and international sources for infrastructure development in commercially viable projects. It has been incorporated as a company under the Companies Act, 2013, duly authorized to act as investment manager.

The statement said the establishment activities of the NIIF are underway and steps are being taken to operationalize the initiatives with different investors including RUSNANO, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).

"NIIF initiatives would now be taken forward by the CEO and made further operational. An initial budgetary allocation of Rs 4,000 crores has also been made in the budget 2016-17. Further allocation would be made as and when necessary," it said.

While the Centre will invest Rs 20,000 crore in NIIF, the rest will come from private domestic and foreign investors who can invest in the umbrella fund or smaller sector or project-specific funds within it.