UTI Asset Management Company has raised USD 600 million for private equity investments in infrastructure companies and projects across the country, reports Economic Times. The AMC has raised the money through its subsidiary UTI International, in association with Shinsei Bank and HSH Nordbank. The investments will be made in companies across the market cap spectrum, but the main focus will be on projects like ports and airports. (My Iris)   more »

Ashok Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment is setting up a multi-million dollar fund in Asia for the production of feature films. The fund aims to raise $55-$73 million. Hyde Park's Asia offices will be based in Singapore. Hyde Park will produce or co-produce three to four films per year, which will include a mixture of English and local or regional language films to target international as well as national or regional market. The company aims to establish long-term producing partnerships with local production houses in India, Japan and South Korea. The fund has positive support from Singapore's Media Development Authority, though it is not going to put in money behind the fund. Singapore's Media Development Authority CEO Christopher Chia said that he expects the production funding to raise Singapore's position as a global media city.   more »

SIDBI Venture Capital (SVCL), which manages two venture capital funds with total corpus of Rs 600 crore, is gearing up for more investments. Speaking to FE on the sidelines of announcement of his company’s investing Rs 30 crore in Mumbai based Centaur Group, Ajay Kapur, CEO, SVCL, said that “We are in harvesting mode nowadays and there was no chance of exiting from any of the funds we have invested at this moment”. The only fund which was exited by the SVCL in recent past was the NCR-based retail chain retail chain, Sabka Bazar which is promoted by a Muradabad-based firm. The SVCL, which had invested a sum of Rs 6 crore in the firm, sold off its entire stake to Spinach Group. Kapur said, “Most of the firms we have invested in our young and performing well, so we would like to wait for 3-4 years before deciding to exit. Out of our commitments to invest Rs 500 crore as SME Growth Fund within a period of three years, we have already invested Rs 375 crore so far in sectors like auto, textile, pharma, speciality chemical, industrial adhesive and others.”   more »

Sidbi Venture capital (SVCL), the venture capital arm of Small Industries Dvelopment Bank of India, is planning its third fund this year, which will focus on early and growth stage companies across various verticals, a top official said. "We will come up with more funds in the current fiscal year. The focus is set equally across different segments that have growth potential," SVCL's Chief Executive Officer, Ajay Kumar Kapur, told reporters here. However, he declined to divulge further details about the fund. SVCL had launched its first fund--National Fund for software and IT-- with a corpus of Rs 100 crore, Kapur said, adding, "the fund has already been deployed fully in various firms". The second fund, which is an SME Growth Fund, has a corpus of Rs 500 crore and had attracted investments from nine parties including Sidbi.   more »