At least four to five privately placed Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) are expected to transition to public listings by the end of this financial year (FY27), potentially increasing the number of publicly listed InvITs to 12-14, according to N S Venkatesh, chief executive officer of Bharat InvITs Association (BIA). As reported by Business Standard, there are currently 28 registered InvITs, of which nine are publicly listed. The first such transition was Cube Highways Trust, which recently moved from being a privately placed and listed entity to a publicly listed InvIT.
The investor base of listed InvITs has been expanding significantly, with unit holders rising from around 558,000 at the end of FY26 to around 653,000 in the first quarter of FY27, according to BIA. The association expects this base to grow further as awareness and familiarity with the asset class increase. According to Venkatesh, the shift towards public listings is expected to widen investor participation and deepen the market, with the move not aimed solely at attracting retail investors but bringing greater visibility, improved liquidity, and enhanced transparency.
The broader InvIT industry is targeting assets under management (AUM) of around ₹21 trillion by FY31, compared with about ₹7.3 trillion currently. The industry has been growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 18-19 per cent and expects this growth to continue over the next decade. In Q1 FY27, InvITs distributed ₹5,923 crore to their unitholders, up 15 per cent year-on-year, with cumulative distributions since inception crossing ₹97,000 crore during the quarter.
According to Venkatesh, the average InvIT distribution yield is around 9 per cent, supported by long-term contracts with various government agencies. Roads currently account for around 40 per cent of the InvIT landscape, while digital infrastructure and telecom towers account for 30-45 per cent. Power transmission and generation account for around 10 per cent, while warehousing and gas pipelines account for 2-3 per cent. The sectoral mix is expected to broaden, with data centres emerging as a major opportunity, while metro rail, ropeways, logistics, airports, seaports and inland waterways could increasingly come within the InvIT structure.
