Merrill Lynch fund invests in DLF

MUMBAI: Merrill Lynch private equity real estate fund has invested 377 million dollars in housing projects being built by India's largest real estate company DLF, executives said on Tuesday.   

"This partnership and these projects reflect our continued belief in and support for India," Timothy Grady, a commercial real estate head at Merrill Lynch, said in a DLF statement.   

Merrill Lynch will buy a 49 percent stake in seven residential projects managed by DLF, the statement said.   

The investments could be made through an overseas arm or from India, said DSP Merrill Lynch, the local arm of the US-based firm, without disclosing details.   

The mid-income housing projects, located in the southern and central Indian cities of Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Indore, would be fully developed in eight years, the New-Delhi based DLF said.   

DLF shares fell 39.95 rupees or 4.21 percent to 907.9, after hitting a day's high of 948 at the Mumbai stock exchange on Tuesday.   

Indian property developers have raised more than seven billion dollars by selling shares in the local market and in London's Alternative Investment Market since August last year.   

Experts say there is high demand for homes and office space in the nation of 1.1 billion.