Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank bought a minority stake in an Indian private equity firm and will anchor its first fund, in the latest expansion by a Japanese firm into India’s fast-growing financial services sector.

One Planet Partners expects to deploy about 30 billion rupees ($315 million) over the next five years in assets including energy transition, mobility and manufacturing, the founding partners in the fund said in an interview.

The investment underscores Japanese institutional investor interest in Indian companies across financial services, manufacturing and real estate. Over the last year, large Japanese banks such as Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group have acquired stakes in Indian firms in an unprecedented investment push into the country.

“There is a lot of appreciation in the fact that at a time when everything seems to be souring in many markets, whether it is geopolitics or security issues, India is still growing 7%,” Mukund Rajan, a founding partner said.…