Tourism Finance Corporation of India Ltd (TFCI) is strengthening its presence in the alternative investment space by taking on the role of co-sponsor and anchor investor in two Category II Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), marking a strategic push towards equity-linked and asset management opportunities.
In a regulatory filing, TFCI said it will act as co-sponsor and anchor investor in the Holystone Hospitality Fund, an equity-focused Category II AIF, with a proposed commitment of up to 5 percent of the fund’s total corpus. An application for registration of the fund has already been submitted to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Separately, TFCI will also serve as an anchor investor in the Certus Real Estate Fund, another Category II AIF, with an investment of up to 10 percent of the overall fund size. The registration application for the Certus Real Estate Fund has also been filed with SEBI.
Commenting on the development, Anoop Bali, Managing Director, TFCI, said the move aligns with the company’s long-term diversification strategy. He noted that participation as co-sponsor and anchor investor reflects TFCI’s intent to leverage its sectoral expertise while partnering with experienced fund managers. According to Bali, the AIF platform enables the company to support hospitality and real estate sectors in a capital-efficient manner while creating additional avenues for value creation.
Industry participants view the initiative as part of TFCI’s broader transition from a tourism-focused lender to a diversified non-banking financial company (NBFC) with an expanded financing and investment mandate. The AIF structure is expected to provide exposure to equity and quasi-equity opportunities without significantly increasing balance-sheet risk.
TFCI operates as a specialised NBFC-ML, offering financial assistance across tourism and hospitality infrastructure, manufacturing, renewable energy, social and urban infrastructure, real estate, NBFC and housing finance company funding, structured credit, and lending against listed securities. The company has also been expanding its digital retail lending platform.
source: ET
