Infra.india Regulatory News (IIP)

18 Aug 2008 07:00



Date: 18 August 2008

On behalf of: Infrastructure India plc ("Infrastructure India" or "the Company")

Embargoed until: 0700hrs

Infrastructure India plc 

Interim Management Statement

Infrastructure India plc ("Infrastructure India" or "the Company") is an investment company focusing on investing in Indian Infrastructure assets. This is the first Interim Management Statement issued by the Company in accordance with FSA Disclosure and Transparency Rule 4.3.  This statement covers the first period of trading since flotation of the Company, that is, the period from 30 June 2008 to 15 August 2008. 

Rupert Cottrell, Infrastructure India's Chairman, said: 

"The focus of Infrastructure India since the IPO has been to consider investment opportunities with a view to investing the capital raised at flotation in energy and transport infrastructure projects that will help secure our target returns for the future. 

"We have made good progress in this respect and have now made a second investment, in a toll road project in Central India, which is expected to complete within a year. The asset which seeded the initial investment at flotation is developing well and we remain confident that this will generate returns in line with our expectations."

Gary Neville, Chief Executive of Bloomsbury Asset Management Advisors, Investment Adviser to Infrastructure India, commented: 

"The Indian Infrastructure sector is very active and we have continued to build an investment pipeline throughout this initial period whilst further developing our investment team network. We are extremely pleased with the level of progress achieved to date."

1. Investments

Infrastructure India invested a total of £13 million (Rs 1.1 billion) in the period to 15 August 2008 in Shree Maheshwar Hydel Power Corporation Limited, which was specifically established to own and develop a 400MW hydroelectric power project situated in Maheshwar, in the southwestern region of Madhya Pradesh in India. This project is expected to be one of the largest privately owned hydroelectric schemes to be commissioned in India within the next two years. The progress on this asset is in line with expectations at the time of the acquisition.

The Company has also recently announced a £11.9 million (Rs 960m) investment in a toll road in Central India, which represents a 26% shareholding in the project.  The toll road is part of the local State Government sponsored road upgrade programme. It is a single 125 km four-lane divided carriageway toll road that is currently five months into construction, with tolling operations anticipated to commence in late March/April 2010.

Together these two investments account for approximately £24.9 million of deployed capital, representing a substantial proportion of the net proceeds raised at the time of the recent IPO.

Energy and transportation represent core sectors for Infrastructure India and the acquisitions made so far are consistent with the Company's stated objective of securing as many projects as possible that are expected to commence planned commercial operations within 18 months of the Company's investment.

2. Investment Pipeline

The acquisitions made so far reflect the strength of the Company's operations on the ground in India and demonstrate its ability to source projects that meet its investment criteria. The Company intends to continue to make acquisitions in conjunction with blue chip partners.

At the time of IPO, the Company indicated the existence of a strong pipeline of potential investments including an option for further investment in connection with the Shree Maheshwar Project which remains open to the Company. The scale of that investment pipeline has now developed significantly in the short period since IPO and includes a broad range of potential new transactions across the country with some of India's leading road construction companies as well as other transportation projects and a number of energy projects.

The Company will issue its half-yearly results for the period from 1 April 2008 to 30 September 2008, including the net asset value as at 30 September 2008, in November 2008. 

-Ends- 

Enquiries:

This statement aims to provide an indication of material events that have taken place during the period to the date of publication of this statement. The contents of this statement reflect the Board's current view. They are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and actual outcomes and results could change. Factors which could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, general economic and market conditions and specific factors affecting the financial prospects or performance of individual investments within Infrastructure India's portfolio.