Spriha Srivastava
Development institution Industrial Finance Corporation of India is looking to raise up to $10.7m via tax-free bonds. In related news, India’s Infrastructure Finance Company, a state-backed infrastructure lender, is waiting for government approval to start guaranteeing all infrastructure bonds issued in the country.
Indian infrastructure developer Adani Enterprises has entered into an agreement with the Indonesian government to build rail and port infrastructure in the South Sumatra province. The company plans to make an investment of $1.65bn, which will give it exclusive rights over 60% of the country’s coal reserves.
The Indian developer is entering the business of building and operating airports. The company is already evaluating the possibility of investing in two to three airports in smaller cities across India.
Local authority pension funds in the UK are starting to step in to help fund some of the infrastructure projects that have been jeopardised by government cuts, reports suggest.
Norton Rose expects the government to have its new infrastructure planning body – the Major Infrastructure Unit –up and running by April 2012. The new body intends to replace the existing Infrastructure Planning Commission with a faster, more democratically accountable mechanism, but Norton Rose says the transition should take place smoothly.
The Philippine government is reportedly considering setting up a $10bn infrastructure fund in order to finance road, rail and port projects. The fund is part of the government’s plan to reduce the country’s budget deficit, which stands at more than $7bn.
Africa Israel Investments, an Israeli real estate developer, has decided to sell its 37.5% stake in Derech Eretz Highways, the country’s only toll road. The capital raised will be used to fund the company’s investment plans and redeem short-term bonds.
Developer Bilfinger Berger has won an order to modernise and expand two schools in the German city of Halle. It also won a tender for the demolition and construction of a sports facility in Erfurt, located in the eastern part of the country.
Indian roads operator Sadbhav Infrastructure, a wholly-owned subsidiary of listed Sadbhav Engineering, is understood to have entered into an agreement with global investors Norwest Venture Partners and The Xander Group to raise INR4bn. The capital raised will be used for funding existing projects.
The firm is backing power developer Moser Baer, as part of its plans to reportedly invest up to $3bn in India over the next five years.