IDFC Capital (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., the newly formed fund of private-equity funds unit of India's Infrastructure Development Finance Co, is raising a US$500 million Asia-focused fund, a person familiar with the situation said Thursday.
The fund will be focused on mid-market, growth-focused private-equity funds in Asian emerging markets, particularly China and India, the person said. There will also be some allocation to other Asian emerging markets and Southeast Asia as well as an allocation to other emerging markets such as Sub-Saharan Africa.
IDFC is expected to commit US$50 million to the fund, the person said. The fund's first closing is expected sometime later this year.
IDFC has hired Veronica John, previously a portfolio director at CDC Group PLC and principal investment officer at Asian Development Bank, to be chief executive of IDFC Capital.
IDFC was started in 1997 to finance infrastructure projects in India. It also has a private-equity unit, IDFC Private Equity, which manages US$1.3 billion through three funds.
Source: WSJ