MOVES-IFC appoints Vikram Kumar to lead APAC infrastructure, natural resources investment team

SINGAPORE, July 1 (Reuters) - International Finance Corporation (IFC) said on Monday it has appointed Vikram Kumar as its new regional industry director for infrastructure and natural resources in Asia and the Pacific, effective Monday.

The appointment comes as Asia Pacific is experiencing growing investor interest in infrastructure assets across the region as it rapidly urbanises, its energy demand grows and its population becomes increasingly affluent and digitised.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, currently has an investment portfolio of $3.1 billion across infrastructure and natural resources in Asia and the Pacific, according to its statement.

The firm continues to grow in areas such as renewable energy, digital infrastructure, and transportation, it added.

"This is a crucial time for Asia and the Pacific to expand access to clean energy, to boost digital connectivity, and to make cities more inclusive and resilient as urbanization continues," Kumar said in the statement.

Kumar will lead IFC's infrastructure and natural resources investment team across Asia and the Pacific to develop and implement power, water, telecoms, transport and other infrastructure projects with public and private-sector partners, IFC said.

Kumar, who has more than 20 years of global investment and development expertise, most recently served as IFC's global transport manager based in Washington, it said.

He will be based in Singapore in his new role, IFC added. (Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Janane Venkatraman )