APG has partnered with India’s Piramal Enterprises to invest $130m (€116m) in Indian solar projects.
The investment in an Essel Infraprojects vehicle comes as part of APG’s $1bn partnership with PEL to provide mezzanine debt to Indian infrastructure projects.
Essel Green Energy Private, the vehicle chosen, currently owns 160 MW of solar IPP assets (independent power producer) across four Indian states, of which 110 MW worth is already operational.
Hans-Martin Aerts, head of Asia-Pacific infrastructure investments at APG, said the manager was a “strong supporter” of investments in sustainable energy generation.
“We view India as an attractive renewable-energy market with favourable growth dynamics,” he said.
Jayesh Desai, co-head of the structured investments group at Piramal, said the joint venture with APG saw “great potential” in green energy projects.
“Given the government’s focus on non-conventional energy and Essel Infra’s strong track-record, we are confident the investment will yield good results,” he added.
APG recently backed a $275m residential property fund in India, while the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board agreed a venture with Piramal to provide $250m in Indian residential financing.
