MUMBAI: Foreign portfolio investment in the ‘hybrid’ category, which reflects activity in real estate investment trusts (REITs) and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs), has climbed to $875 million so far in 2024, the highest in four years, fuelled by a recent infrastructure offering that attracted significant foreign capital.
Data released by the National Securities Depository (NSDL) showed the increase in FPI investment in the hybrid category was primarily driven by $842 million worth of overseas investment in February. FPI investment was at $3 million in January, and it stood at $30 million in March so far, the data showed.
At the current level, FPI investment in the hybrid category is at its highest level since 2020 when the full-year investment was $1.7 billion.
Market participants said the flurry of investment activity in February was due to the recent public issuance of the Bharat Highways InvIT, which counted several foreign players as anchor investors.
“The current increase in momentum of ‘Hybrid Category’ under FPI investment (REITs, InvITs) is primarily due to the recent public issue of road infra InvIT with respect to favourable interest rate scenario. Also, a large portion of FPI investment in this category is to do with existing commitments, from a broader perspective,” said Deepak Sood, senior partner and head of fixed income at Alpha Alternatives.
Anchor investors for Bharat Highways InvIT included foreign firms such as CIM Investment Fund ICAV, Copthall Mauritius Investment’s ODI Account, Societe Generale’s ODI and BNP Paribas Financial Markets, documents on the website of the Bharat Highways InvIT showed.
Shares of Bharat Highways InvIT made their stock market debut on Tuesday, listing at a premium of 1% at ₹101.1 on the NSE.
The ₹2,500 crore IPO was priced at ₹98-100 per unit and it garnered eight times subscription, mainly driven by strong institutional participation.
REITs and InvITs are essentially investment models possessing revenue-generating real estate or infrastructure assets. The two models are created to facilitate investments in real estate and infrastructure assets by a large investor pool.
“Operational assets generally do not require significant intervention in day-to-day operations. If well-maintained, they provide a steady cash flow over the concession period/life of the asset. The steady revenue source aligns with the investment requirement of patient capital investors as well as retail investors,” Crisil Ratings wrote in a report, estimating the overall potential of REITs and InvITs at ₹18 lakh crore-₹22 lakh crore over the medium term.
