Sterlite Power, which is backed by metals magnate Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Group, has formed a joint venture with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC to set up a new platform to develop and operate power transmission projects in India.
The Indian firm Power will own the majority stake of 51%, while GIC will own the rest. According to the Economic Times, the two players will be setting up a $1-billion platform in which GIC will invest $500 million.
“India’s renewable vision calls for investments in transmission to unlock the full potential of 500 GW of renewable power. With GIC as our partner, we are poised to play a leading role in India’s transmission sector, starting with the $13-billion bid pipeline,” Pratik Agarwal, Managing Director, Sterlite Power, said.
“India is a key long-term market for GIC given its strong economic fundamentals and favourable demographics, which are spurring opportunities in many sectors including infrastructure development,” said Ang Eng Seng, Chief Investment Officer of Infrastructure at GIC.
India’s renewables sector has been attracting increasing foreign investment and is among its top five industries for overseas funds, with a 5% share of all inflows in April-September 2022, compared with 3.3% in the same period a year ago, according to Reuters.
On Wednesday, India’s largest power producer NTPC Ltd entered into a $200-million loan agreement with the Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC).
Earlier this month, Matrix Gas & Renewables Ltd (Matrix) raised Rs 350 crore ($42 million) in a pre-IPO round to accelerate the expansion of its gas business, fund acquisitions, and meet capital expenditure plans. Separately, Gensol Engineering raised Rs 900 crore ($109 million) through convertible warrants on a preferential basis.
Other investments by GIC in India include Vegrow, which runs a business-to-business marketplace for fruit; and Genus Power and Infrastructures Ltd, etc.