Oaktree actively exploring first ever India investment

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Oaktree Capital Group, the world's largest distressed debt asset manager, is looking to make its first ever investment in India, focusing initially on direct lending for real estate projects, a top company executive told Reuters.

The company, which has invested in Chinese non-performing loans, Japanese equities as well as Australian private equity and distressed debt, had looked at India before, but had yet to make an investment in the country, said Rajath Shourie, co-portfolio manager in Oaktree's distressed debt team.

"We have people who are actively exploring (in India)," Shourie said in an interview on Wednesday. "Historically in new countries, office real estate is easier to get our arms around first and where we would start, that would be a reasonable guess."

(Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Lisa Jucca)