Global credit guarantor bets big on India with $500 million plan, exec says

MUMBAI: GuarantCo, the credit-guarantee unit of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), plans to increase its exposure to India, aiming to make the country its largest Asian market within three years, a senior official said on Monday.

PIDG, a development finance institution backed by the U.K., Switzerland, Australia, France and others, mobilizes capital for sustainable infrastructure.

GuarantCo specializes in partial credit guarantees to lower-rated firms in Africa and Asia, helping boost their ratings and access institutional money.

The firm expects to provide guarantees worth $500 million in India’s climate and capital market deals by 2027, according to Nishant Kumar, managing director, Asia investments at GuarantCo and Asia head of coverage at PIDG.

“Between 2025 and 2027, we would have deployed close to $500 million in guarantee capacity in India (including current guarantees),” Kumar said in an interview.

GuarantCo’s increased focus on India comes as the country seeks to strengthen its credit enhancement ecosystem to attract significant foreign investment and bring down borrowing costs for lower-rated firms.

Its plans also align with India’s intensified focus on climate goals, as New Delhi pushes for a climate-financing framework to aid climate adaptation.

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Foreign capital could deepen the capital markets, provide longer-tenor, low-cost financing for projects, and contribute towards India’s clean energy and net-zero targets.

GuarantCo has underwritten $1.5 billion in credit guarantees across 26 countries, including $120 million in India. It plans guarantees of $150 million for 2026 in India.

The firm prefers deals involving credit guarantees between $15 million and $50 million, and covers 50%-75% of Indian deal sizes, which it aims to reduce to 30%-40% over the coming years.

Last week, GuarantCo completed its third Indian capital market transaction, providing a 65% guarantee for a 1.5 billion rupee green bond by Muthoot Capital Services. In September, it supported the rating of KPI Green Energy’s five-year green bond.