BENGALURU: CapitaLand Investment India, part of Singapore-based Capitaland Investment Ltd., is planning to raise a 2,000 crore to 2,500 crore India-focused fund, to invest in next year office projectsA top company official said.
It will be a private fund sponsored by CapitaLand, along with other private or institutional investors, to invest in office projects over a period of five to seven years.
“The impetus on India has been exceeded for a few reasons. The country has been countercyclical and the biggest growth has been in the IT sector in the last two years. Companies have increased their workforce drastically. There is a huge demand for office space but the supply is still constrained,” Gauri Shankar Nagabhushanam, CEO, India Business Park, CapitaLand Investments, said in an interview.
CapitaLand India operates multiple business parks, and warehousing and data centers in six cities with a combined portfolio of 25-26 million square feet in the country.
Nagabhushanam said that in two to three years, the plan is to double the portfolio to 40-50 million sq ft, and 80% of it will be business parks.
The company uses three verticals to acquire assets – through its proprietary book, private funds platform, which includes development and brownfield properties, and the third, Ascendas India Trust.
“Developed assets are easy to acquire, but there is a dearth of good quality properties. Therefore, we will continue to grow a substantial part of our portfolio through greenfield development and further purchase agreements.”
Nagabhushanam said the level of tenant occupancy is currently at 90%, with rent collection of 98-99%.
“Vacancies increased in late 2020 to early 2021. But the companies’ future growth plans have expanded and the demand for office space has increased. In Bengaluru, the physical occupancy in our office premises is 55-60%, and should be back to normal by the end of the year. However, it seems a challenge for large IT companies to bring employees back to offices.”
The last fund launched in India was CapitaLand India Logistics Fund II, which is approximately 2250 crore, for investment in building warehousing and manufacturing hubs in six cities-Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, National Capital Region (NCR) and Pune as well as logistics assets in emerging markets like Coimbatore, Guwahati, Jaipur. , Kolkata and Lucknow. Funds are being put in place at the moment.
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