SIDBI Venture Capital to invest $9m in defence MSMEs
SIDBI Venture Capital’s India Opportunities Fund will invest INR500 million ($9 million) in equity to support Indian micro, small and medium enterprises involved in manufacturing of defense products.
India is the world's biggest importer of military equipment, with over 65% of its annual requirement coming from foreign suppliers.
According to a Ministry of Defence statement, the Defense Acquisition Council took a series of decisions last week to strengthen the defence manufacturing base in India.
To ensure rapid indigenization of defence products, both the public and the private sectors are being encouraged to play pivotal roles in this endeavour.
Government policy requires the setting-up of a fund to provide necessary resources for development of defence equipment. SIDBI has earmarked INR5 billion to provide loans to MSMEs involved in manufacturing of defence products, as well as the INR500 million from SIDBI Venture Capital.
Defence Minister AK Antony said the government will make all efforts to create genuine level playing field for Indian manufacturing industries vis-à-vis global players. Preference in procurement will be given to domestic manufacturers, with global suppliers being a choice of last resort.
The India Opportunity Fund closed in June 2012 after raising INR6 billion (Rs 6,000 mln) from public sector banks and insurance companies. It had originally targeted INR10 billion. It is a close ended fund with a life of 10 years established in August 2011.
The fund focuses on the growth capital needs of India's growing and unlisted MSMEs operating in sectors such as light engineering, clean-tech, agro-based industries, logistics, infrastructure, educational services, and IT.
Investments so far include Thejo Engineering, Synergistic Financial Networks, Plazma Technologies and Opal Luxury Time Products.
More on South Asia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.