A mix of investable opportunities across energy, infrastructure, real estate and financial services, coupled with stable market conditions, will be key to deploying additional capital in India, said John Graham, chairman and CEO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), one of the world’s largest retirement funds, during a select media roundtable in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The pension fund, which operates as CPP Investments, will also increase its India exposure after tripling its investment in five years in the domestic market, Graham, 53, said, adding that India was a “fast-growing dynamic economy”, prompting it to look for more opportunities here.
CPP India’s assets under management have increased from C$10 billion in 2020 to C$29.5 billion (Rs 1.8 lakh crore) at the end of June 2025. That makes India the Canadian pension fund’s third-largest market in the Asia-Pacific, behind Japan (C$38.1 billion) and China (C$30.3 billion), he said.
“We will be focused on delivering strong investment returns in India. We have seen great opportunities in India and will continue to grow our portfolio across diverse asset classes,” Graham said, without indicating how much it would invest more in the country. CPPIB’s portfolio companies include Phoenix Mills, Renew Power, NSE, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Indospace, among others.
Apart from India’s economic growth rate, its strong public markets were some of the “positive factors” for the country, though it would look at investment opportunities with “development cycles” that were “shorter,” he said. Global investment managers from KKR to Blackstone are increasing investments in India, reflecting a “rebalancing” of capital flows as investors look beyond China.
Apart from real estate, energy and infrastructure, the pension fund would also place emphasis on supply chain productivity, decarbonisation and consumer segments such as e-commerce, where it has invested in Flipkart, it said.
CPP Investments has nearly C$732 billion of net assets globally, according to information available on its website. Globally, the pension fund expects to invest in the artificial intelligence sector through investments in energy generation and transmission, as well as data centres, Graham said.
In March, the pension fund added to its infrastructure portfolio in India by topping up an investment in the National Highways Infrastructure Trust. It also committed money to funds managed by Kedaara Capital and Accel Partners in India and formed a joint venture with property developer RMZ Corp for an office park project in 2024.
Some of its recent investment exits from Indian companies include the sale of a 6% stake in logistics firm Delhivery and a partial stake sale in NSE India for undisclosed amounts.