Singapore’s GIC all set to invest in Vatika Realty Projects

The fresh investments such as the one driven by GIC is likely to create more opportunities in the real estate sector

As a result of India becoming an attractive destination for real estate investments, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC is moving forward with Gurgaon-based realty developer Vatika Group to form an exclusive alliance and invest in residential and commercial properties in north India.

As part of its strategy to invest in India, GIC is looking to put in around $150 million in this platform in addition to its recent investments in two residential projects of Vatika Group in Gurgaon, as per the media reports.

It may be recalled that in the month of December, 2014 GIC had invested Rs 150 crore in a joint venture with Vatika Group in order to drive development of two projects with a development potential of over 2.3 million sq ft in the millennium city of Gurgaon.

As India braces for more foreign investments coming in the real estate segment, GIC is betting big on the Indian real estate market and has been looking for potential assets. In another investment placement, in December 2014 only, the fund had signed another agreement to acquire 39% stake in Nirlon that owns 3.3-million-sq-ft IT park in the Goregaon suburb of Mumbai.

On the other hand, close on the heels of GIC’s Nirlon transaction, Singapore’s sovereign fund had expressed its plans on long-term partnerships for their investments. And these investment plans are a direct result of this strategy.

As believed by many experts, real estate investing is about establishing long-term partnerships with leading market players to source and add value to high quality assets and this is exactly what GIC is likely to do here in India.