IL&FS to rework investment manager model

IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd (IIML), the debt and equity financing unit of the IL&FS group, will fund infrastructure projects in Africa and offer advisory services to offshore investors for real estate in India.

There was a need to offer similar differentiated products to investors and reduce the time to market, the company said in its annual report for 2015-16. It was imperative to evolve the business model beyond classic fund management, it added.

IIML will offer structured products in infrastructure and real estate in the Middle East and Africa. It will also provide advisory services to offshore investors who lack the capacity to extract value from their investments in India. It has already taken on such success fee-based mandates.

IIML also plans to put together a consortium of like-minded investors to invest in opportunities sourced through the group's network of corporate relationships. IIML managed funds will co-invest alongside the consortium, providing additional comfort to consortium members.

Ramesh Bawa, managing director, IIML, said the real estate and infrastructure sectors in India had witnessed a below par investment environment. Returns have been affected by policy uncertainty and project delays.

Global institutional investors are wary of committing large pools of capital in these sectors, thereby stretching timelines for raising funds. IIML has in the last year reached out to investors in Japan, South Korea, China and Australia.