Money

Macquarie, Everbright say China infrastructure fund hits $729m

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-06-14 16:45

SHANGHAI- Macquarie Group and China Everbright Ltd said they had secured nearly half a billion dollars from global investors for a Greater China infrastructure fund, bringing the total amount available for investment to $729 million.

The two companies announced the first close of the Macquarie Everbright Greater China Infrastructure Fund on Tuesday after achieving total commitments of $479 million from institutional investors including PGGM, the second largest pension manager in the Netherlands, and the Korean Teachers' Credit Union, Korea's second largest pension plan.

The rest of the available funds will come from Macquarie, China Everbright and co-investors, and the fund will target infrastructure projects such as toll roads, airports and railways in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

"We have identified a strong and growing pipeline of attractive investment opportunities for the fund, with potential investments in a variety of sectors, such as renewable energy and transport, currently under detailed review," said Ben Way, managing director of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets.

Macquarie, Australia's biggest listed investment bank, and other global firms such as Blackstone , TPG and the Carlyle Group are rushing to raise funds for investment in China, where tighter lending policies are fuelling demand for private equity investment.

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China ranks first for private equity investments in Asia this year, attracting 66 percent of regional market share or $6.2 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The infrastructure fund, jointly-run by Macquarie and Everbright, will continue to raise capital from investors, with the final closing expected in 2012.

Macquarie is the world's largest infrastructure fund manager, with nearly $100 billion of infrastructure assets under management globally.

China Everbright, a unit of the country's financial conglomerate China Everbright Group, currently manages about HK$15 billion ($1.9 billion) in 11 funds.