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Reuters
Reuters
Business

Australia's AMP infrastructure fund raises $6 billion, strong foreign interest

FILE PHOTO: The logo of AMP Ltd adorns their head office located in central Sydney, Australia, May 5, 2017. Picture taken May 5, 2017.REUTERS/David Gray

(Reuters) - Australian wealth manager AMP Ltd's <AMP.AX> funds management business AMP Capital said on Tuesday it has raised a record $6.2 billion for its fourth infrastructure debt fund.

The fund, which provides capital for infrastructure and energy projects, is AMP Capital's largest closed-end fund ever, it said in a statement.

AMP Ltd shares rose more than 3% to a near three-week high following the announcement, compared with a marginal rise in the domestic financial index.

AMP Capital Global Head of Infrastructure Debt Andrew Jones said a total of 86 investors from 14 countries invested in the fund in less than a year "with strong demand from institutional investors in Korea, Japan, Canada and the U.K."

A vote of confidence from foreign investors is a breath of fresh air for AMP shareholders. The stock is headed for a second year of losses after a public inquiry into Australia's financial sector last year tarnished AMP's reputation and hemorrhaged funds.

As part of damage control, AMP earlier this month announced plans to merge its banking and wealth management units earlier this month as a part of a turnaround plan aimed at making the firm more customer focused.

AMP will report its third quarter financial results on Thursday, after posting its biggest half-year loss as a publicly-listed company in August.

(Reporting by Rushil Dutta and Rashmi Ashok in Bengaluru; editing by Jane Wardell)

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