She stresses that while India  and China have experienced some  level of liberalisation, the two  markets are quite different.  “The private sector is playing  an increasingly greater role in  the Indian economy, including  infrastructure. Several ports,  airports, airlines [and] telcos are  owned by the private sector,” she  says.  “China is more state-controlled,  with almost all infrastructure  owned by the state, either wholly or  substantially.”  According to the AMP  Capital report, the Indian  Government aims to attract a 30  per cent contribution in funding  from the private sector for new  infrastructure development.  Investment opportunities are  most likely going to be in the  energy, telecommunications and  transportation sectors.  The report also anticipates  the Chinese Government will  seek private-sector investment  to support the sheer scale of the  infrastructure program planned for  the country’s vast population.  AMP Capital reckons this  will manifest as a mix of “directed”  investments made by local  insurance and pension funds at  the behest of the government. But  some of these deals may also be  open to foreign investors.

QIC has  been investing in India through  its specialist fund since 2007. It  has focused on making equity  investments in infrastructure or  infrastructure-related facilities and  projects.  As such, it has targeted Indian  companies in high-growth sectors  such as transportation, logistics and  telecommunications – all of which  are underpinned by infrastructure.  “The underlying investments  have qualities which characterise  them as infrastructure, such as  providing essential services, low  elasticity in pricing and a strong  competitive position – similar  to our other infrastructure  investments,” says Papathanasiou.  “However, given India is an  emerging high-growth economy,  these companies have greater needs  for expansion capital than their  developed market counterparts,  and the fund has typically provided  capital to enable the companies to  fund their expansions.”  Overall, however, QIC is  principally a core and occasionally  core-plus infrastructure investor  and seeks investments in lowerto  medium-risk infrastructure,  which includes developed markets  utilities, transport assets and social  infrastructure.  “We have less appetite for  emerging-markets investments,  greenfield opportunities or assets  that operate in highly competitive  markets,” said Papathanasiou.  QIC has committed about 4  per cent of its clients’ infrastructure  allocations to the India-focused  fund.