India ICICI's PE arm starts healthcare venture

KOLKATA, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The private equity arm of ICICI Bank (ICBK.BO), India's No. 2 lender, has launched a separate company that aims to invest $250 million in the healthcare sector, an official said on Tuesday.

ICICI Ventures has put $80 million as equity in the unit, I-Ven Medicare, and a foreign partner will invest an equal amount soon, Aluri Srinivasa Rao, director of investments, ICICI Venture Funds Management Co Ltd, said without elaborating.

The unit will also raise $90 million in debt and has committed investments worth 2.45 billion rupees ($62 million) in healthcare projects in southern and eastern India, he told reporters.

Shares in ICICI Bank, which has a market value of about $40 billion, ended 4.05 percent down at 1,351.40 rupees in a weak Mumbai market that dropped 2.3 percent on jittery global sentiment for financials. ($1 = 39.3 rupees) (Reporting by Tamajit Pain; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)