AustralianSuper to invest additional AU$500 million in NIIF

Australia’s largest super fund has said that it will invest an additional AU$500 million into India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, taking the Fund’s overall holdings in India across all asset classes to AU$3.3 billion.

The new investment follows an original NIIF commitment of AU$240 million in 2019, which has been one of the Fund’s best performing infrastructure assets for AustralianSuper members.

AustralianSuper is a “profit-for-member” fund, which manages over several billions of retirement savings on behalf of 3.6 million members.

“AustralianSuper’s investment in the NIIF has been one of our most successful partnerships and that’s why we’re excited to invest again to help drive returns for members,” AustralianSuper Chief Investment Officer Shaun Manuell said. Manuell said policy consistency was a key factor behind the decision.

“India is an attractive place to invest due to its strong economic growth and expanding middle class, and the Indian government has made it easier for institutions to deploy capital successfully,” Manuell said.

The NIIF is India’s sovereign-anchored alternative asset manager. It was established in 2015 to attract investors from around the world to deploy capital into infrastructure developments in India.

The Fund deploys capital across four investment strategies — infrastructure, private markets, growth equity, and climate & investments in the India-Japan business corridor — which together have deployed capital across 25 entities spanning ports and logistics, renewable energy, roads and highways, digital infrastructure, healthcare, electric mobility, manufacturing, technology and affordable housing, across multiple states and union territories.