Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) reached a final close last month on its Global Infrastructure Fund II just short of its revised USD 2bn target, it is understood.

The final close was delayed from the previous final close target of March this year as it was seeking to add a third asset to the fund, but the deal did not go ahead in time, sources told NPM.

The fundraising was launched in early 2023 with a USD 3bn target and initially had a global investment mandate, with a target of USD 50-200m in equity per investment.

But QIC later changed its strategy to focus on investing in Australia and New Zealand, and reduced the target.

In the Australasia region it targets investments in mid-market infrastructure assets across energy and utilities, transport and social infrastructure.

The fundraising includes commitments from existing investors in QIC’s first global infra fund as well as around 20 new institutional clients across Korea, Japan, Canada, the US and Australia, spanning pension funds, insurers and fund-of-funds, sources said.

QGIF II’s first investment was in New Zealand utility Vector’s smart meter business. It acquired a 50% stake in that, since renamed Bluecurrennt, in June 2023.

Last year it acquired most of AGL’s 20% stake in Tilt Renewables, taking it and the Future Fund’s stake to just shy of 100% ownership.

In November last year, QIC struck an exclusivity agreement with EDP Renewables Australia for QGIF II to acquire an equity stake in EDP’s AUD 1bn (USD 706.2m) Punchs Creek project, a 480 MW solar farm co-located with a 400 MW / 1,600 MWh battery, near Toowoomba in Queensland.

Late last year EDP and QIC began seeking debt to finance the project, with a target to reach financial close early this year.

However, the project appears to have missed out on a PPA it was hoping to get from Rio Tinto to help power an aluminium smelter Rio operates in Queensland, delaying financial close, as reported.

QIC declined to comment.