GIC, Ascendas to pump in Rs 3,000 cr in realty projects

Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and business space solutions provider Ascendas Pte Ltd will jointly invest around Rs 3,000 crore towards developing commercial real estate in India.

The money would be invested through Ascendas India Growth Programme (AIGP), in which GIC is a principal investor. The extent of GIC’s investments in AIGP has not been disclosed though.

Manohar Khiatani, president and CEO, Ascendas, said AIGP will leverage on the projected strong demand for business space in India. “The programme builds upon our presence in India and offers an opportunity to share our expertise in developing and managing business space in the market,” he said.

AIGP will invest in business space developments that may have other complementary uses in addition to acquiring pre-stabilised completed commercial properties. It plans to invest in cities including Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi National Capital Region, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune.

AIGP will complement Ascendas’s existing funds for India --Ascendas India Trust (a-iTrust, a Singapore Stock Exchange listed business trust) and Ascendas India Development Trust (a fully-invested private equity fund).

As for GIC is concerned, the sovereign wealth fund has increased its focus on investing in the Indian market and opened its India office in Mumbai in 2011. It sees the AIGP initiative as a medium to leverage on the opportunities.

While demand for commercial real estate in India is not so exciting at present, industry experts said the opportunity will be huge once the economic slowdown is over.