Retail portion of NHAI InvIT to rise going ahead: Nitin Gadkari

Enthused by the overwhelming retail investor response to the recent Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), wherein Non-Convertible Debentures (NCD) worth ₹1,430 crore were issued, Union Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on October 28 said the retail portion will go up in new such fund-raising ahead.

The Minister was addressing a gathering at Bombay Stock Exchange after listing the second tranche of the NHAI InvIT and NCD, which earlier this month raised ₹1,430 crore and the issue was oversubscribed nearly seven times.

As much as 25% of the issue was reserved for retail investors, but NHAI had not said how many times the retail portion was oversubscribed instead saying it had an overwhelming response.

Infrastructure investment trusts are instruments on the pattern of mutual funds, designed to pool money from investors and invest in assets that will provide cash flows over a period of time.

“We want more and more general public to invest in these InvITs, I mean in our roads and I can assure you that NHAI’s roads offer 100% security to investors and also the best internal rate of return. So, going forward, we will have more portion being reserved for retail,” Mr. Gadkari said without quantifying any numbers.

Addressing the gathering, NHAI chairperson Alka Upadhyaya also said the forthcoming InvITs from the NHAI will have more units reserved for retail but did not quantify.

Mr. Gadkari had said the InvIT so far has raised over ₹8,000 crore from foreign- and domestic institutional investors, but the second tranche was special given that 25% of the NCD issue was reserved for retail investors.