Canada's CPPIB to invest up to $600 million in Indian infrastructure fund

Canada's biggest public pension fund is investing up to $600 million in India's National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), as it seeks to grow its infrastructure bets in Asia's third-largest economy.

The deal includes a commitment of $150 million in NIIF's Master Fund and co-investment rights of up to $450 million in future opportunities to invest alongside the Master Fund, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) said in a statement on Thursday.

The NIIF is majority-owned by institutional investors, but says is anchored by India's government, which is also an investor in its Master Fund.

India needs investments worth about $778 billion for highways, urban transport and renewable energy by 2022, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation, a government body.

With CPPIB's investment, NIIF's Master Fund now has $2.1 billion in commitments, it said.