Red Fort to invest Rs 3,500 crore

MUMBAI: Red Fort Capital, an international private equity fund, is planning to invest Rs 3,500 crore in the country’s real estate sector during the next one year.

It has also launched a domestic fund few weeks back through which it plans to raise Rs 1,000 crore. The proceeds would be deployed into non-foreign direct investment projects. The first closing of the 6-year domestic fund would be in May, 2008.

From the Rs 3,500 crore raised through the international fund, the company has committed Rs 1,100 crore for several projects.

It has allocated 50% amount towards residential projects and 10-15% each for logistics, commercial office space and smaller ITITES parks.

Construction has begun for Prestige’s project in Bangalore, Indu project in Hyderabad, Chennai and NCR, Delhi.

Kuldip Chawlla, Director, Red Fort Capital, told DNA Money, “We are investing in projects which would be worth 10,000 crore by next year. We are buying land and bringing developers to build the projects.”

Red Fort is in the final stages of discussion for investing in budget hotel chains. It plans to capitalise on its existing land bank of over 1,000 acres pan India. It has land in North Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi.

The company has reported returns in excess of 50% this year and expects the returns to flow from these projects by third-quarter 2009.

pooja_s@dnaindia.net