CapitaLand Investment Aims to Double India Fund by 2028

Mumbai, Sep 4 (PTI) Singapore-based CapitaLand Investment Ltd (CLI), a global real asset manager, on Wednesday said the company aims to more than double its fund under management (FUM) in India by 2028 from the current level of nearly Rs 46,000 crore.

In a statement, the company said it is targeting to more than double its FUM in its core market India by 2028, up from 7.4 billion Singapore dollars (Rs 458.8 billion) as on June 30, 2024.

The CLI announced its growth strategies to achieve the FUM target for India, which it entered 30 years ago, including expansion of IT parks and logistics parks businesses. The company would explore entering into the renewable energy segment.

Since entering India, the CLI has built a well-diversified portfolio comprising over 40 IT and business parks, industrial, logistics, lodging and data centre assets across eight cities in India – Bengaluru, Chennai, Goa, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.

Lee Chee Koon, Group Chief Executive Officer of CLI, said: "India is a strategic market for us and a key contributor to CLI's overall business. India has been one of our fastest growing markets, where our investments have tripled in the last seven years."

With India's GDP forecasted to grow 7 per cent in 2024 and its trajectory to be the world's third-largest economy in the next five years, he said the country is attracting demand from global corporations and institutional investors for quality real assets.

"Given our deep expertise in the country and the strong tailwinds, we are confident of more than doubling our current FUM of 7.4 billion Singapore dollars in India by 2028. This is also aligned with our priority on geographical diversification to achieve better capital rebalancing," Lee Chee Koon said.

He said the company is well-placed to capitalise on the growth opportunities in India.

"Given India's strategic importance to CLI, we will also actively explore opportunities to enter adjacent business segments, including renewable energy and real estate private credit to further grow and diversify our income streams," Lee Chee Koon said.

Sanjeev Dasgupta, Chief Executive Officer of CLI India, said India presents tremendous potential for the company.

"We will drive growth through our listed CapitaLand India Trust (CLINT) and our private funds. We have successfully established four private funds across logistics and business parks, and we see opportunities for data centre funds in India riding on the country's fast-growing digital economy," he said.

Dasgupta said the company would leverage its operational expertise to grow the value of assets, further expand its logistics footprint under its logistics platform, Ascendas-Firstspace (AFS) and scale up lodging portfolio through CLI's lodging arm, The Ascott Limited.

"CLI remains focused on delivering sustainable returns to our capital partners as we continue to contribute to India's vibrant economic landscape and the local community," he added.

CLI entered India 30 years ago with the development of its first IT park called the International Tech Park Bangalore (ITPB) via Ascendas. Its footprint has since expanded to 14 business and IT parks, offering 23.5 million square feet of space strategically located across Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, and Gurugram.

The company would adopt multi-pronged strategies to expand its business parks portfolio.

With a current land bank of over 16 million square feet, CLI will accelerate development activities to address the increasing demand for premium office spaces across key metropolitan cities.

CLINT, the largest India-focused property trust listed in Singapore, will continue to develop and execute forward purchase acquisitions, securing prime assets to ensure a robust pipeline for sustained growth.

CLI will continue to raise third-party capital through new private funds aimed at greenfield developments and value-added strategies, offering strategic investors opportunities to participate in India's real estate market, the statement said.

CLI will also seek joint development and joint venture opportunities with capital partners, along with commercial management partnerships, to expand in India.

Regarding logistics and industrial spaces, CLI said it has a portfolio of 9.1 million square feet.

CLI will continue to expand its logistics and industrial portfolio by seeding new private funds for logistics and through CLINT. AFS will be a key driver for CLI to grow in these sectors.

At present, CLI currently has 12 logistics and industrial assets in India under AFS, and 3 industrial assets and 1 logistics park under the CLINT.

On its data centres business, CLI said that through CLINT it is developing 4 data centres across key cities in Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru with a total gross power capacity of 244 MW.

CLI's lodging business under The Ascott Ltd will continue to build on its recurring fee income by expanding through management contracts and franchise contracts.

Ascott currently operates seven properties across six cities?. In 2024, Ascott opened two properties in Goa and Gurugram, with eight more expected to open in the next 3-4 years.

"CLI will explore opportunities to enter adjacent business segments such as renewable energy and real estate private credit," the statement said.

Renewable energy is a fast-growing segment in India with the government targeting to achieve 500 GW by 2030 from the current 111 GW, it said.