The Securities and Exchange Board of India has granted certificate of registration to SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd for setting up SREI Mutual Fund for infrastructure debt schemes.

An infrastructure debt fund (IDF) can be set up as a trust or as a company. A trust-based IDF is a mutual fund that issues units, while a company-based fund is in the form of a non-banking finance company (NBFC) issuing bonds. While mutual funds are regulated by the SEBI, NBFCs are regulated by the RBI.

IDF through the mutual fund route would open up long-term funding options for the infrastructure sector, said Hemant Kanoria, Chairman and Managing Director of SREI Infrastructure.

Investors appetite

SREI aims to launch the IDF by January 2013. “We got the certificate of registration from the SEBI on Thursday. We will now start meeting investors and understand what their investment appetite is. Based on that we will file our scheme with the SEBI in the next 15 days,” Kanoria told Business Line.

He, however, refused to divulge details about the estimated size of the fund.

According to Mohit Sachdev, CEO of SREI Mutual Fund Asset Management Pvt Ltd, infrastructure sector in the country offers a long-term opportunity for debt investors.

“Institutions, such as pension funds, insurance companies and provident funds, which have long-term liabilities require investment opportunities with matching cash flows. IDF via the mutual fund route will make a good investment vehicle for these institutions,” he said in a company press statement.

>shobha.roy@thehindu.co.in

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