KKR, GIP lead $25 billion regional infrastructure tie-up, US says

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -KKR, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Prosperity have formed a coalition to invest $25 billion in infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Thursday.

Raimondo, speaking in Singapore, said investment would include green data centres in Indonesia, renewable energy in the Philippines and smart metres and hybrid renewables in India.

"Coalition members (of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework) will help facilitate the identification, promotion, and development of successful infrastructure projects across the region," the three organisations said in a joint statement.

The coalition will initially focus on scaled infrastructure investment across the energy, transportation, water and waste, and digital sectors, they said in the statement.

Private equity firms KKR and GIP will co-chair the initiative, while global investors including BlackRock, GIC, Rockefeller Foundation and Temasek will be a part of the coalition, the statement showed.

Raimondo said over $23 billion of investment opportunities had been identified by the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

Investment opportunities numbering 69 "sustainable infrastructure" projects were identified at an IPEF Investor Forum, Singapore's trade ministry, which organised the forum, said on Thursday.

"Of these, 20 investment-ready projects worth about $6 billion were presented to investors. Remaining projects worth about $17 billion were also identified as potential investment opportunities," the ministry said.

(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Christopher Cushing)