Piramal, HDFC, IIFL bet big on affordable homes, plan to invest Rs 256 bn

Piramal Finance, HDFC and IIFL, the biggest investors in real estate, are betting big on affordable housing and planning to invest $4 billion (Rs 256 billion) in such projects.

Piramal Finance, on Wednesday, said it would invest $2 billion (Rs 128 billion) in the next three years. It has identified an initial pipeline of Rs 30 billion in metros. “The five players in any big city will invest in affordable housing and it is going take off in a big way. We want to participate in this growth story,” said Khushru Jijina, managing director, Piramal Finance. Jijina said the company would offer end-to-end solutions such as construction, finance, equity, debt and marketing support for affordable housing projects. 

HDFC has also set its sights on affordable housing and has created a corpus of $800 million with global investor International Finance Corporation (IFC) for lending in the segment.

India Infoline Finance Limited (IIFL), is planning to raise separate property funds worth $500 million each. “The segment has seen good sales velocity if the project is in the right market and of the right-ticket size,” said Amit Goenka, chief executive officer and managing director, Nisus Finance Services.