India conducive for FDI, is a critical market for us: CPP Investments CEO

The pension fund has invested in Byju's, Flipkart, ReNew Power and a number of InvITs. It invested C$128 million in NSE in FY21 and is currently exploring options in pharma and healthcare

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) has C$19.6 billion invested in India across real estate, infrastructure, public and private equities, funds and credit. This formed 3.6 per cent of the fund’s total worldwide assets as of December 31, 2021.

“We have been meeting government officials over the last few days. We are happy that India has created a positive environment for FDI investment,” said John Graham, President and CEO, CPP Investments. “We are building local capabilities to invest in the largest and fastest economies of the world and India is a critical market for us.”

CPP Investments will invest Rs 2,600 crore to acquire a 49 per cent stake in Tata Realty and Infrastructure's two premium commercial office projects at Chennai and Gurugram, and their joint venture plans to further invest Rs 2,000 crore to buy land and completed assets for future growth, according to reports.

The pension fund has invested in names such as Byju’s, Flipkart, ReNew Power and a number of InvITs. It invested C$128 million in the National Stock Exchange of India in fiscal year 2021. It is exploring options in the pharma and the healthcare space.

Globally, it is eyeing options in the sustainable energy space and expects to double its investments in transition assets by 2030 (from C$67 billion currently). The fund has made a net zero commitment by 2050 and is increasingly focussing on the ‘E’ aspect of ESG (environmental, social and governance) in the investments it makes.

The fund has not been directly impacted by the Russia Ukraine conflict as Russia is not a target market for the fund and it has no investments in the country.

The pension fund has a diversified asset mix with 30 per cent invested in private equity, 28 per cent in public equity, 16 per cent in credit, 9 per cent real estate, 9 per cent in infrastructure and 8 per cent in fixed income.