CapitaLand Investment to raise ₹2,500 cr for IT parks in India

Singapore-based CapitaLand Investment is planning to raise about $300 million (about Rs 2,500 crore) through one of its private funds for developing IT and business parks in India.

CapitaLand Investment, which manages real estate assets of over $100 billion, has already raised about $600 million since 2018 to fund its asset purchases and develop its portfolio of real estate in India. While a fund of $300 million raised in 2018 has been fully deployed in logistics and warehousing assets, a similar amount raised in 2022 will be deployed in similar assets in India over the next 6-7 years.

With regard to the planned fund raise, CapitalLand Investment (India)‘s CEO Gauri Shankar Nagabhushanam told businessline that it was a work-in-process.

The asset developer and manager, through its Singapore-listed real estate investment trust CapitaLand India Trust, holds assets worth about $3 billion in India, which it plans to double to $6 billion over the next 3-4 years, during which it also plans to substantially increase its real estate holding from the current 17 million sq ft (msf). About 11 msf is the pipeline for its business parks, and 15 msf for industrial parks.

The asset manager follows a twin strategy in growing its portfolio in India. The first is through greenfield projects, where it buys land and develops them. The second strategy involves forward purchases, where it buys developed properties from an owner. For instance, last November it entered into an agreement with L&T Realty to buy 6 msf of office assets in Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. In January it entered into a forward agreement to acquire a 1 msf IT park in Bengaluru.

As a result of its land acquisition strategy the company has a land bank of 500-600 acres, which will be used to develop its real estate assets in India. Of the total pipeline for the next 3-4 years the asset manager will be developing about 8 msf through third-party acquisitions.