Tchenguiz and Tata Go Green

Vincent Tchenguiz, the property and clean-energy billionaire investor, is in talks with Indian conglomerate Tata about investing in a new $10bn environment fund.

The fund would invest in clean-energy projects in India and develop alternative technologies to replace fossil fuels. Tata, which owns steel maker Corus and Jaguar Land Rover in the UK and is also India's largest car maker, wants access to technology that will make its businesses more energy-efficient.

Tchenguiz is also talking to other potential investors about the fund and others like it. He wants these funds to deploy the technologies developed by his alternative-energy companies. Tchenguiz is also planning to tap the $200bn-worth of 'offsets' generated each year globally.

When a government signs a major defence or infrastructure contract with a foreign supplier, that firm must invest in the country to help offset the resulting trade imbalance. Often, governments have wasted these offsets, but now Tchenguiz wants them to invest in clean energy via his funds.