British International Investment explores more exposure to India's affordable housing, MSME sectors
British International Investment is looking to raise exposure to India's affordable housing finance and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) spaces, sectors that receive continuous government support and have shown significant improvements in asset quality metrics.
The UK's development finance institution said that it has a strong pipeline on both debt and equity investment in these two sectors and that it is looking for innovative ideas for funding.
«We are currently pushing funding into two big areas. One is affordable housing and the other is MSME finance. There is a third area which is microfinance,» BII's director and head of financial services business in South Asia, Gaurav Malhotra, told ET.
«We keep looking for innovations that need funding, that need patient long term funding. I would say we have a reasonably strong pipeline both on the equity and debt side to keep supporting some of these business models,» he said, adding that there is no dearth of availability of funds for right business ideas.
The Indian government is pushing affordable housing through Housing for All scheme and MSME financing through credit linked subsidy scheme for technology upgradation and credit guarantee schemes among others. With recovery recovery, the asset quality stress for lenders across the spectrum has also sunsided.
BII's outstanding investment in India's financial services sector stands at $740 million, while the total exposure to India is around $2 billion.
«BII has a substantial focus on financial services.
