Riding high on the Indian growth story, private equity investments in the country have crossed two billion dollars during July alone and can touch $15 billion by the end of this year, a study by global consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said on Tuesday.

The surge in PE investments is the result of huge returns of over 25-30 per cent which Indian firms provide to investors. "This by far exceeds any other market in the developed countries," PwC Executive Director Sanjeev Krishan said.

Of the total, 55-60 per cent investments are made by overseas PE firms, he said, added that "for the year ahead, leading PE firms such as ChrysCapital and Henderson Equity Partners have several deals in the pipeline".

Though some concerns have been raised by the PE firms regarding valuations, the sequential growth witnessed by the Indian economy has made them stay interested, the PwC report on 'M&A in the first half of 2007 in India' said.

Going ahead, these PE funds are expected to favour consumers in retail, power equipment, healthcare, entertainment, media and the banking and financial services sectors, the report said.

Private equity investments have been rising steadily with over 200 deals worth over $6 billion during the first half of this year, compared to $7.9 billion in the whole of 2006.