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KKR Global, a leading private equity firm, plans to bet big on opportunities in private credit, insurance, real estate and manufacturing as it looks to increase its portfolio in India on the emerging opportunities. KKR manages nearly $700 billion in assets globally. Of that, roughly $250–300 billion is in credit, making it the largest business by assets. It has substantial exposure in private equity, real assets, and insurance. The company plans to invest between $90 and $100 billion in 2025. In India, KKR has invested $9 billion over the last five years, and over $13 billion since establishing its presence in India in 2008. India bets to grow Scott Nuttall, co-CEO of KKR, said that, given India’s position as the world’s fifth-largest economy and soon to be the third-largest, activities in India will increasingly resemble the firm’s global profile over time. “Even though $9 billion makes us one of the largest private capital investors in the country today, that number will grow dramatically in the years ahead,” he said at the recent media round-table. On the impact of the trade war between India and the US, he said, “we are focused on what India will look like 10 to 20 years from now and many of the themes we are betting on growth in domestic consumption, healthcare, financial services which are not much impacted by exports. Over 10 to 20 years ahead, the outlook for India is extraordinarily bright”. Gaurav Trehan, Co-Head of Asia Pacific, Head of Asia Pacific Private Equity and Chief Executive Officer of KKR India, said that in the first decade, KKR’s investment in India was about $4 billion, and it invested over $9 billion in the next five years. “For a long time India did not deliver strong returns for our industry, but that turned around in the last five years,” he said. “We have a large portfolio and are continuously evaluating exit opportunities, whether through capital markets or strategic deals. Over the next 12–18 months, a few more exits from our portfolio but there is a lot more to come,” he said. “We have realised billions of dollars over the years through capital market exits, strategic sales to both foreign and domestic buyers, and sponsor-to-sponsor transactions. But that journey is really just getting started,” said Trehan. India will experience the wave of value creation and market deepening over the next 5-15 years, he added. Elaborating on emerging opportunities in India, Scott said KKR is already funding transactions (Manipal) in India through a global insurance company, but we are also considering whether it could make sense to have local partnerships with Indian insurance companies to create the liabilities, with KKR investing in the assets alongside. KKR plans to deploy more in healthcare and expand across consumer, technology and financial services besides infrastructure, including renewables, roads, transmission grids, and data centres. “We have not done much investment in manufacturing so far, but given the “China Plus One” story and success of the Make in India campaign, we are looking to go big into manufacturing through private equity or private credit,” said Trehan. RETURNS FROM INDIA HIGHEST KKR has been a top-quartile fund in private equity and infrastructure, and across Asia and India, it is among the largest contributors to both. Trehan said, “India is the largest contributor to our private equity and infrastructure funds, and the returns from India have been very strong and among the best compared to our peers and other markets in the region.” On the private credit side, he said, since the relaunch of the business, there have been no principal losses on any of our loans or debt exposures. Though private credit returns are not as high as equity returns, they have been more consistent, he said. For KKR, private credit in India currently accounts for 10 per cent or about $1 billion. “When we started our NBFC business on the credit side, it was a different India, with a different set of regulations. We did go through some underwriting issues at that time, which we subsequently cleaned up. We have since restructured the team, we now have a brand-new private credit team on ground with a refreshed strategy,” he said. “We want to ensure that beyond just providing capital for real estate sector in India. We have a large real estate business globally, with deep relationships, experience and expertise. Along with capital we want to bring global expertise and act as a solutions provider for our partners. We have started conversations with developers and it is in early stage, but it is an area we are seriously looking at,” he said. “One of the key topics we have been discussing recently is how KKR can play a leading role in developing India’s corporate bond market. It’s an area that has not yet reached the depth the country truly needs. Over the coming decades, as India pursues its growth ambitions, corporates will need access to a wider variety of capital sources,” said Trehan. Published on November 4, 2025
