Australia's QIC closes global infrastructure fund at $1.8b
QIC, an investment manager controlled by the Queensland state government, has closed its global infrastructure fund at the hard cap of A$2.3 billion ($1.8 billion), beating the A$1.7 billion target.
QIC Global Infrastructure Fund (QGIF) received investor support from Australasia, China, Japan and Korea as well as the US and Europe. A first close of about A$1 billion was achieved in August 2015. Some $528 million of initial commitments were confirmed in early 2015, with backers including an Asian sovereign wealth fund, a Chinese insurer and Australian superannuation fund Hostplus.
Core investment areas will include transport, energy and utilities and public-private partnerships. QGIF has already participated in the acquisition of gas storage facility in Australia and supported a renewable energy fund launched by AGL Energy and Future Fund. In September, it joined Future Fund and Global Infrastructure Partners in a consortium that paid A$6.9 billion for a 50-year lease on Port of Melbourne, the country’s largest cargo shipping facility.
“We are very pleased these investors have also supported QGIF’s innovative fund structure and the platform it presents for co-investment,” Ross Israel, head of global infrastructure at QIC, said in a statement. “We believe it is a further step in the continuing evolution of institutional infrastructure fund structures.”
QIC claims to manage A$9.5 billion in direct infrastructure investments globally, with a strong focus on North America and Australia. Previous activity includes a A$2.9 billion commitment to a Sydney road tunnel project alongside Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and participation in A$2.1 billion investment in Port of Brisbane.
It also teamed up with California Public Employees' Retirement System in 2015 to create a A$1 billion Asia Pacific partnership focused on water, power, transportation and energy.
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