Retail portion of NHAI InvIT to rise going ahead, says Nitin Gadkari

Enthused by the overwhelming retail investor response to the recent InvIT, wherein NCDs worth Rs 1,430 crore were issued, Nitin Gadkari said retail portion will go up in new such fund-raising ahead

Enthused by the overwhelming retail investor response to the recent InvIT from NHAI, wherein NCDs worth Rs 1,430 crore were issued, Union Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said the retail portion will go up in new such fund-raising ahead.

The minister was addressing a gathering at BSE after listing the second tranche of the NHAI Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) and NCD, which earlier this month raised Rs 1,430 crore and the issue was oversubscribed nearly seven times.

As much as 25 per cent of the issue was reserved for retail investors, but NHAI had not said how many times the retail portion was oversubscribed instead saying it had an overwhelming response.

Infrastructure investment trusts are instruments on the pattern of mutual funds, designed to pool money from investors and invest in assets that will provide cash flows over a period of time.

"We want more and more general public to invest in these InvITs, I mean in our roads, and I can assure you that NHAI's roads offer 100 per cent security to investors and also the best internal rate of return. So, going forward, we will have more portion being reserved for retail," Gadkari said without quantifying any numbers.

Addressing the gathering, NHAI chairperson Alka Upadhyaya also said the forthcoming InvITs from the NHAI will have more units reserved for retail but did not quantify.

Gadkari had said the InvIT so far has raised over Rs 8,000 crore from foreign and domestic institutional investors, but the second tranche was special given that 25 per cent of the NCD issue was reserved for retail investors.