Singapore funds line up $8 bn for Indian realty

WITH AMERICAN INVESTORS going slow on the 700 million square feet Indian property market, Singaporean investors and property developers have stepped in to take advantage of the lower competition and a spate of good deals.

- RAGHAVENDRA KAMATH

Ballpark estimates, based on their announcements, show that they are looking to invest about $8 billion (₹66,400 crore) in Indian properties.

While Singaporean sovereign fund GIC is doing big deals in office properties, other investors such as CapitaLand Keppel Corporation's real estate arm Keppel Land and Mapletree are launching new funds and developing new properties.

GIC is in the final lap to buy the Waverock property owned jointly by Shapoorji Pallonji group and Allianz Real Estate in Hyderabad for ₹2,200 crore. In May this year, it joined Brookfield India REIT to acquire two large commercial assets, totalling 6.5 million square feet, from Brookfield Asset Management in an equal partnership for a valuation of $ 1.4 billion.

GIC was also in the race to buy the warehousing assets of ESR Allianz which finally went to Blackstone, sources said.

"They (Singaporean investors) are getting good pricing as others are not active. There is not much competition," said Shobhit Agarwal, managing director at Anarock Capital.

UNLIKE US MARKETS, Singaporean markets are on a rise, Agarwal said.