Citi Group raises USD 500 mn Infra fund

Mumbai, May 15 (UNI) Citi Group, the largest US bank by assets, has raised USD 500 million in the first phase as infrastructure fund, to invest in India, according to a top official of the group.

The fund raising is in its first phase, Citi India chief executive officer Sanjay Nayar told newsmen on the sidelines of a press conference here today.

Citigroup in association with Blackstone Group and two other Indian finance companies started a USD 5 billion Indian infrastructure fund in February 2007 and aims to tap the USD one trillion proposed spending in roads, railways, ports and airports development in India within the next ten years, Mr Nayar asserted.

Responding to a query, he said that bank has no plans to exit or sell its consumer finance division in India. ''We are only repositioning and resegmenting our products,'' Mr Nayar asserted.

The non-performing assets in the consumer finance segment were much larger than expected in the last fiscal, but the returns from Citi's Indian business were satisfactory, Mr Nayar said.

However, he declined to give the details of the same.

UNI PP SR SM1534