Australia investment bank manager Babcock & Brown hopes to invest in $2 billion of Indian property and infrastructure assets within three years and has poached nine investment bankers from ABN AMRO for the task.
Mr. Jaginder Singh Pasricha, executive director for business development in India, told Reuters the infrastructure specialists he pinched from the Dutch bank had started their fund on Monday.
Pasricha has spent the last year formulating a strategy for spending up to 40% of a $1 billion Asia infrastructure fund. This week he put together a new team in one fell swoop.
He said,”We know we’re the new boys on the block”.
The new Babcock & Brown team will approach Indian companies building roads, ports, airports and power plants.
Further he said,”We’d look to partner companies with some existing expertise with infrastructure”.
He added, “It could be a contractor with a few projects who needs a bit of hand holding and, if possible, a bit of capital”.
Investors have been increasingly drawn to Indian infrastructure as the government estimates about $500 billion will be needed to build new roads, airports and power plants by 2012 to keep pace with a fast-growing economy.