The Federal Government’s green bank, three offshore institutional investors and a local insurer have piled into a $450 million equity raising by forestry and agricultural giant New Forests for a new fund that will generate a significant portion of its return from emerging sectors like carbon and renewable energy.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation – or green bank as it is often called – has committed $75 million to the Australia New Zealand Landscapes and Forestry Fund joining Swedish pension fund Andra AP-fonden, German pension group Bayerische Versorgungskammer, a German insurer and an Australian insurer as first close investors.