NETHERLANDS - APG, the asset manager of the €193bn ABP pension fund, is pushing forward to meet its infrastructure investment target of €4.5bn for 2009, even though opportunities are now drying up in the asset class.

Robbert Coomans, head of infrastructure investments at APG, told IPE the company would have "no problem in reaching our target by the end of 2009."

In last year's asset allocation plan, the company mapped out it would invest €4.5bn by the end of next year; according to Cooman's APG has already €4.5bn committed and has invested €2.5bn.

That said, Coomans warned high-quality investments in the asset class have become increasingly difficult to find since the start of the credit crunch, but new deals are significantly less leveraged.

Despite this, Coomans told delegates at an industry conference in Frankfurt yesterday: "Infrastructure is a stable cash flow for us, if we can combine that with lower leverage, then we are quite happy."

APG favours co-investments with experienced infrastructure investors, and has previously invested together with PGGM, fund manager of second-largest Dutch fund PFZW.

However, Coomans said fellow institutional investors are becoming more cautious about the impact of market turbulence on investment opportunities.

"The credit crunch has cast a shadow over the infrastructure industry, and fundraising has slowed down," he said.

APG currently manages just over €200bn in assets, on behalf of its biggest customer ABP, from which it recently separated.

Coomans said ABP had seen its assets drop from €205bn at the end of June to the current level of around €193bn.

If you have any comments you would like to add to this or any other story, contact Carolyn Bandel on +44 (0)20 7261 4622 or email carolyn.bandel@ipe.com

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