Sovereign Wealth Fund and Pension Funds investments in India: Unique Considerations and Critical Issues

THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2023

2:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M. (IST)

 

INTRODUCTION

The confluence of India’s focus on scaling up its infrastructure, the search for bankable yield instruments by Sovereign Wealth Fund (“SWF”) and Pension Funds (“PF”), and the coming of age of InvITs and REITs, has led to a pronounced increase in investments by SWFs and PFs into India.

In this webinar, we propose to discuss in depth the “top of the mind” issues for this critical pool of capital. We will be analysing not just the legal, regulatory and taxation framework that is applicable to such investors in India, but also practical aspects of their experience investing in India.

Some of the topics that the panellists will be discussing shall include:

• The growth and significance of investments by SWFs and PFs in India

• Preferred routes of investments and typical instruments used

• Tax structure and recent developments

• Unique considerations for SWFs and PFs in deal making

• Sectoral focus and geographic allocations

Flow of the session

2:00 – 2:45 PM (IST)	Panel Session
2:45 – 3:00 PM (IST)	Audience Q&A

Speakers

HELLY AJMERA Director and Head of India Investments, Infrastructure & Renewable Resources British Columbia Investments

Helly Ajmera is a Director, at BCI, Infrastructure & Renewable Resources and heads their investments in India. Helly has over 15 years of experience in infrastructure investments, and her previous roles include investment banking at EY.

BCI is a among the largest institutional investors in Canada with C$211.1 billion under management as at March 31, 2022 and has close to C$2 billion invested in India.

 

Bhavin Merchant Principal - Infrastructure Asia Pac Mubadala

Bhavin is a Principal at Mubadala, one of the world’s largest Sovereign Wealth Funds with US$284bn of assets under management. Bhavin leads strategy, execution and asset management of investments across the Asia Pacific region, with a key focus on India in recent years.

Bhavin has been a private equity infrastructure investor for the past 10 years, previously being based in London and focussing on the UK and European markets, with a background in Investment Banking at Citigroup and Houlihan Lokey in London.

 

NISHCHAL JOSHIPURA Co-Head, M&A & Private Equity Practice                                    Nishith Desai Associates

Nishchal Joshipura co-heads the Private Equity and M&A Group at the research and strategy driven international law firm NDA. He is a Lawyer, Chartered Accountant and an MBA (Finance). He has 19 years of work experience in advising several high profile Private Equity and M&A clients on cross border deals and investments from a strategic, legal and tax perspective. His deal structures have been consistently recognized as most innovative by the Financial Times of London. He has also helped set up multiple offshore and domestic India focussed funds and advises Pension Funds and Sovereign Wealth Funds on cross border deals in listed and unlisted space. He is the partner-in-charge of the Fund Formation Group at NDA.

 

RATNADEEP ROYCHOWDHURY Co-Head, SWF and PF Practice Nishith Desai Associates

Ratnadeep has advised on some of India’s highest profile M&A transactions and corporate disputes. He brings a unique mix of transactional experience and expertise in leading high profile, high stakes corporate litigation. Ratnadeep has been working extensively with InvITs, REITs and other public market instruments, and has been advising some of the leadings SWFs and PFs investing into India. His experience of a decade and a half in the infrastructure space combined with his track record in advising transactions in the listed markets, has made him a trusted advisor of several marquee SWFs and PFs.

 

PARUL JAIN Co-Head, International Tax Practice Nishith Desai Associates

Parul co-heads the International Tax Practice at Nishith Desai Associates. A lawyer and a chartered accountant by profession, she has close to two decades of experience incorporate and international tax field and specializes in M&A transactions and Private Equity space. Prior to joining Nishith Desai Associates, she was partner at M&A Tax practice in one of the Big Four accounting firms. She advises extensively on cross border taxation, acquisition and reorganisation strategies including debt funding and investment strategies. She has also worked closely with renowned fund managers in structuring set up of their offshore and domestic fund platforms, including providing advice on carry structuring from a legal and tax perspective. She has been recognized by International Tax Review World Tax2013 and has also been listed in The Legal500 Directory. She has also been recognized as one of the Leading Women Leaders in Tax 2016, 2017 and 2019 by International Tax Review.