India potential investment site for new Irish sovereign wealth fund

THE NEW FUND IS DESIGNED TO MEET FUTURE COSTS FROM CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS, DIGITALISATION, AN AGEING POPULATION, AND THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

- Rezaul H Laskar

India is a potential investment destination for a new sovereign wealth fund created by Ireland to cope with digitalisation and climate change, even as the European Union (EU) member state eyes Indian firms for investments in technology, research and innovation.

The Future Ireland Fund is one of two new funds unveiled in Ireland's latest budget and the government plans to put aside 0.8% of the country's GDP into this fund every year between now and 2035. The fund is designed to meet future costs from changing demographics, an ageing population, digitalisation and the impact of climate change.

Ireland's finance minister Michael McGrath told a visiting group of journalists from Asia and the Pacific last week that while the investment mandate of the Future Ireland Fund is yet to be finalised, he envisaged that it will be primarily based on global investments.

"So, the Future Ireland Fund will seek to adopt an appropriate risk appetite and of course that will involve a diversified portfolio of assets that it will invest in around the world, including no doubt in India," he said in response to a question from HT.