CapitaLand Investment to double funds under management in India by 2028

Eyes private credit for real estate, renewable energy

Singapore-based CapitaLand Investment Ltd (CLI) is planning to more than double its funds under management (FUM) in India by 2028 from the current base of SGD 7.4 billion.

Besides scaling up investments in business parks, data centres and logistics, the fund manager plans to make forays into private credit for real estate and investments into renewable energy projects.

Andrew Lim, group chief operating officer, CapitaLand Investment – a real estate asset fund manager — said the proportion that India comprised of the overall business was about 3.5 per cent in 2019 and today the proportion is just north of seven per cent of SGD 100 billion FUM. CLI plans to double the FUM by 2028 (SGD 200 billion), which implies that growth trajectory for India should outpace the trajectory for any other market, he said in a presentation to media on India business plans.

At present, business parks have 90 per cent share in FUM in India and the balance 10 per cent is industrial. The share of different lines would go under change in growing FUM. Business parks would have 60-65 per cent share by 2028, said Sanjeev Dasgupta, chief executive officer, CLI India said.

The business growth in the country will be through listed CapitaLand India Trust (CLINT) and private funds. The fund manager has set up four private funds across logistics and business parks. There are opportunities for data centre funds in India, riding on the country’s fast-growing digital economy, he added.

On new business lines, Dasgupta said CLI will explore opportunities to enter adjacent business segments such as renewable energy and real estate private credit. Potentially for the renewable energy business, CLI could look at an infrastructure trust for a portfolio of operating projects.

CLI has a captive demand for renewable energy from its tenants across its data centres and business parks. Thus, the focus is more on supplying power to corporate and institutional clients and not so much on the utility side, Sengupta said. CLINT commissioned its first captive solar power plant in Tamil Nadu in January 2024.

As for entering into private credit business for real estate, he said CLI has become interested in it as bankruptcy laws in India have matured. “We are seeing a lot of instances where people have been able to enforce a reasonable period of time in case of defaults,” Sengupta said.

Also, the Reserve Bank of India has made it very difficult for banks to lend for land acquisition and pre-approval projects. This opens up an interesting opportunity to get good returns for real estate credit strategy, Sengupta added.