IRB Infrastructure Trust (IRB InvIT), a private placement InvIT sponsored by highway developer IRB Infrastructure, was listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday, the Trust announced.
The move comes a few months after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued guidelines for converting private unlisted InvITs to listed InvITs.
“The valuation of the trust units is the confirmed basis for the third-party evaluation and has been further recognized by the trust investors. The determined value is about 16 times the revenue in FY24, and the value will further appreciate as more projects come in,’ said the Trust.
The Trust holds a 49% stake in GIC Associates, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund units. This development is also a step in opening up these new-age asset classes to the public markets. Overseas pension funds and other institutional investors have so far dominated the space.
“The idea behind this is to create better disclosure norms and increase transparency,” said Virendra Mhaiskar, chairman of the Trust and chairman and managing director of IRB Infra.
He added that the Trust’s project portfolio had grown tremendously in the past four years, with an enterprise value of nearly Rs 27,000 crore and a concession period of more than 18 years.
The Trust has acquired 10 Build Operate Transfers (BOTs) in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Goa, Karnataka, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal Road assets with a total mileage of 6,275 kilometres.
IRB InvIT sponsor IRB Infra recorded a 27% YoY growth in toll revenue to Rs 352 crore in FY23.
Regulators have been introducing new guidelines for these asset classes, which have grown their market base over the past few years. Last year, REITs and InvITs were allowed to issue commercial papers, broadening access to financing.
The Centre is also working on mitigating tax implications for InvIT unitholders. In the public sector, units of Power Grid InvIT have been listed on the NSE since 2021, while the National Highways Authority of India recently invited retail investors to participate in its bonds.
According to SEBI, InvIT is a collective investment scheme like mutual funds that enables individual and institutional investors’ money to be invested directly in infrastructure projects, earning a small share of income in return.
