Le RREO devient un important porteur de parts du National Highways Infra Trust en Inde

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers’) is pleased to announce that it has been allocated a 25% stake in National Highways Infra Trust (NHIT), an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) sponsored by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is the Government of India’s nodal agency for national highway development. Ontario Teachers’ has invested INR 15 billion / CAD 248 million for its stake.

NHAI as the Sponsor will retain at least 15% of the units in NHIT. The balance units were placed with a diversified set of domestic institutional investors comprising pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, banks and financial institutions. Proceeds from the subscription of units by investors will be paid to the NHAI as a concession fee to be utilized by NHAI for further development of road infrastructure in India.

NHIT owns, operates and maintains a portfolio of five toll roads in the Indian states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Telangana and Karnataka spanning a total length of 390 km and a concession period of 30 years.

NHIT is part of Government of India’s National Monetisation Pipeline announced earlier this year and has significant potential to scale up in the future with further roads being offered by NHAI to the InvIT over the next few years.

“The investment into NHIT demonstrates Ontario Teachers’ focus on investing in high-quality Indian infrastructure and acting as a partner to the Government of India in its plan to monetize core infrastructure assets,” said Bruce Crane, Managing Director, Infrastructure & Natural Resources, Asia Pacific, Ontario Teachers’. “This investment is in line with our strategy to substantially grow investments in core infrastructure assets globally and builds on our expertise investing in toll roads around the world.”

“As a long-term investor, we are encouraged by the attractive opportunities India presents to us across different asset classes. We look forward to building new partnerships and growing our exposure to the country in the coming years,” said Ben Chan, Senior Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Ontario Teachers’.

This investment is Ontario Teachers’ second investment into the infrastructure sector in India. Ontario Teachers’ is also an anchor investor in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF)

Ambit Private Limited acted as financial advisor to Ontario Teachers’.

About National Highways Authority of India

NHAI is an autonomous authority of the Government of India (GoI) under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways constituted on June 15, 1989 by an Act of the Indian Parliament titled - The National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988. It plays a strategic role in GoI initiatives for growth & development of the Indian highway sector, and acts as the nodal authority for implementation of National Highway projects developed through public or private agencies.

About Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers') is the administrator of Canada’s largest single-profession pension plan, with CAD 227.7 billion in net assets (all figures at June 30, 2021 unless noted). It holds a diverse global portfolio of assets, approximately 80% of which is managed in-house, and has earned an annual total-fund net return of 9.6% since the plan's founding in 1990. Ontario Teachers' is an independent organization headquartered in Toronto. Its Asia-Pacific region offices are located in Hong Kong and Singapore, and its Europe, Middle East & Africa region office is in London. The defined-benefit plan, which is fully funded as at January 1, 2021, invests and administers the pensions of the province of Ontario's 331,000 active and retired teachers. For more information, visit otpp.com and follow us on Twitter @OtppInfo.