The Indo-Nordic Private Equity AS was launched last week in Norway's capital of Oslo by Indian Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev and that country's richest man Stein Erik Hagen.
"Till now, most of the business between India and Norway was in the form of Indian companies buying services from Norwegian companies in the field of shipping and oil and gas," Suneel Regulla, the managing director of the fund, said.
"My company will be investing only in India. So I will raise a fund here in the Nordics and will invest this money into energy companies there," Regulla, who is the first Indian to start a PE fund in Norway, said.
With an expanding economy and increasing population, India's energy needs are also growing and the government has set a target to add a power generation capacity of 78,000 mw in the present five-year development plan.
More From This Section
The fund will invest in growing companies in the energy sector. The focus will be oil and gas, hydro power, renewable energy and energy efficiency companies.
"The fund would further contribute to the growth of business between India and Norway," Sachdev said.
The fund will look for energy and utilities companies in India with acquisition values between $40 million and $100 million, the company's website stated.