Canadian pension funds halt India investments over virus

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) have halted some of their investments in India as Canada’s top two pension funds evaluate the impact of Covid-19 on businesses in Asia’s third-largest economy.

Three people aware of the developments said CPPIB has suspended its ₹1,400 crore investment in an arm of Mumbai-based logistics firm JM Baxi. Separately,

CDPQ has put on hold its planned purchase of a portfolio of seven toll roads from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), its first acquisition of a roads portfolio in India, as the two parties could not reach an agreement to close the transaction within agreed timelines, the people said, requesting anonymity.

Collectively, these two pension funds have more than $500 billion in assets under management and are among the most bullish institutional investors in India, having made numerous investments in both public and private markets, including setting up large platforms for investments in India’s infrastructure sector.

“We do not see these large institutional investors making too many fresh commitments in emerging markets in the next three to six months. Their portfolios have seen markdowns due to the pandemic and they have shifted focus on investments in their home countries and other developed markets; geographies that they are more comfortable with,” said managing partner of a large domestic private equity fund, on condition of anonymity.