The India story seems to be loosing steam. Investors are wary of putting their money in the share market. Analysts’ and the so called experts are predicting more downside to the stock market. Many share market research experts are also of the opinion that there are some great buying opportunities in the stock market at the moment.

The good old days of bull market might be over when you could pick any stock and make money. The irony is that worlds top stock market investors believe that a bear market is the best time to invest in shares.

Question remains; where should you put your money?

One such sector which is crucial for the continuing growth of the nation is infrastructure. It makes sense be a part of this sector. Infrastructure could weather the impact of the negatives that have spooked the stock markets’ upward journey.

Few of the factors that one has to keep in mind before investing in any company demands thorough checking of the fundamentals. Factors such as management quality, reorienting business in a changed economic environment, aggression would be critical to the total analysis.

An infrastructure company mostly deals with projects which are capital-intensive, has longer duration and are more sensitive to inflation, interest and exchange rates. While investing in companies in this space, the impact of these variables must be studied. Financing of projects and the way of financing is another important factor taken into consideration, as it is critical in deciding what the shareholders would ultimately get.

Since projects have longer duration and are generally affected by several factors, it is not a good idea to trade these companies frequently and the best way to reap good returns is to remain invested over a longer term.

With huge investments, better execution capabilities, robust order book, ability to bear the hike in interest rates and prominent and realistic expansion plans, companies in the infrastructure sector form the basis for lucrative and long-term investment. The infrastructure space comprises companies operating in the construction, power, ports, shipping, roads, airports, and telecom, among others. Here are some of the investment opportunities available within the infrastructure space.

Power

Power is one sector where the government is committed and has tremendous growth potential. With a view to accelerating infrastructure development, the government has contemplated huge capital spending on infrastructure development. It has planned a capital outlay of Rs 23, 84,910 crore over the 11th five-year plan. It is estimated that out of the total outlay on infrastructure during the plan period, the government plans to spend 30.4% on power. Hence, the importance of finding investment opportunities makes sense for this sector. Two major companies, which would in the long-term (two to three years), form lucrative investment options are Tata Power Company and National Thermal Power C