InvIT AND BEYOND

In May this year, Mumbai-headquartered IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd hit the headlines as it came up with the first-ever infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) in the country and got it listed. It is like a mutual fund where individuals and institutional investors can invest in infra projects. Besides equity and debt, it is, therefore, a third investment option.

“We have successfully launched India’s

first- ever and much- awaited InvIT and its IPO, which saw 8.7 times response from investors. The IPO raised ` 5,035 crore,” says Virendra D. Mhaiskar, Chairman and Managing Director of the 19- year- old company. “We need to look at the benefits that the stakeholders are receiving such as guaranteed returns on investments, which are higher than what the existing instruments offer.” With the funds raised IRB was able to clear debt in select projects and in a position to take up new ventures.

According to Mhaiskar, last year “was good. We registered 12 per cent growth in net profit for the financial year 2016/17 and 14 per cent growth in revenue. We also bagged three prime projects from the National Highways Authority of India. These will add up to more than 300 km while the project cost will be in excess of `6,000 crore.”

Out of these three, the `2,088 crore BOT project on the Rajasthan-Gujarat border has already achieved financial closure. IRB bagged the project by offering a premium of `163.80 crore.

Mhaiskar points out that the company has “always focussed on the BOT sector”. IRB is currently operating in eight states and is “looking at all upcoming BOT projects, and may evaluate some HAM (hybrid annuity model) projects as well”.