 "Gauri Shankar Nagabhushanam, executive director and chief executive officer of CapitaLand India Trust (CLINT)")
CapitaLand India Trust (CLINT), an India-focused, Singapore-listed real estate investment trust (REIT), has assets worth SGD 3.7 billion under its management. CLINT is managed by CapitaLand India Trust Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Investment that has funds under management of SGD 117 billion. Gauri Shankar Nagabhushanam, executive director and chief executive officer of CLINT, spoke with Prachi Pisal regarding the firm’s growth strategy for India’s evolving real estate landscape. Edited excerpts:
How are you planning to expand CLINT’s current portfolio?
We have grown our portfolio historically at about 11 per cent CAGR from 3.6 msf in 2007 to 22.7 msf in 2025. We did this largely through third-party acquisitions and the development of lands that we already own within the portfolio. Only 3 msf of the portfolio was acquired from the sponsor.
Over the next four to five years, we expect to go from 22 msf to about 33 msf. CLINT has four data centre developments with a capacity of 243 MW and six forward purchases totalling 7.3 msf. We have identified most of these assets and adopted the forward purchase strategy. It has worked fantastically for us.
We have an additional 11 msf of fully committed asset pipeline.
CLINT’s current AUM is around SGD 3.7 billion. After those acquisitions, what would it be?
Ballpark, we would want to increase the AUM to SGD 6 billion.
But our focus will be largely on increasing the DPU. We distributed 3.97 Singaporean cents in H1 2025. I would want to grow that to 4–4.5 Singaporean cents.
Our DPU has grown at a 10-year CAGR of 4 per cent. Going ahead, we would want to do better than that. That is the target that we are setting for ourselves. I will be unhappy with the 4 per cent growth going ahead.
What are the factors that you are banking on while chasing your targets?
We are looking at how to improve the efficiency of our buildings, optimise our cost structures, amenities we can provide to tenants, and therefore, how we can charge them more for the same space.
We’ve decided to borrow more. We would want to onshore most of the offshore debt to get full deductibility for our tax computations and a natural hedge as the Singaporean dollar keeps appreciating against the INR.
We want to increase our exposure to the forward purchase deals. We’ll look at recycling some of our older assets as well to get higher yields.
Where does India stack up against CapitaLand's global business strategy?
India is the fastest-growing market, not just globally but also for CapitaLand. Our commitment to India is huge. So, our growth plans are significant. It’s a core market for us.
We started with business parks and then went into industrial and data centres. We are looking at other asset classes such as renewables. We are also expanding our hospitality portfolio through management contracts.
For your acquisition pipeline, are you looking to raise funds?
We look at all the different sources of capital. Debt will be the first port of call. But we are a listed entity in Singapore. Under regulations, we cannot borrow more than 50 per cent of an asset’s value. We try to keep our debt-to-equity at around 40 per cent.
We can recycle assets, divest some, and redeploy a low-yield asset in a high-yield asset. We are also looking to raise domestic capital for deployment into the opportunities that we are creating.
When the markets are conducive, we can go and raise equity for each acquisition. The strategy is going to be dynamic based on where the situation is for the debt markets, recycling of assets, and equity markets.
What do you think about the Indian investors?
Indian investors can access Singaporean markets. It is an attractive proposition.
We are a diversified REIT. Our yields are 6.5–7 per cent. Appreciation of SGD versus INR is an additional income that investors can get.
Singapore has a highly governed structure for REITs. We operate seven listed REITs—five in Singapore, one in Malaysia, and one in Japan. We manage close to 30 per cent of the market cap of listed REITs in Singapore. Across Asia, we are among the largest real estate investment managers.
We are not trying to make quick money. CLINT is a true-blood real estate investment trust. India is a long-term bet for us.
Are there any divestment plans underway?
Yes, we have highlighted a few assets within our portfolio for divestments. We are looking to divest a business park/industrial asset owned by us and 33 per cent of our data centre portfolio to a fund of our sponsor. As and when we find the opportunity, we will divest and recycle capital.
Initially, we are trying to generate around SGD 300 million by divesting from our assets over the next six months.
Is the office segment going to be the focus for you?
Yes. India is growing because of its demographic dividend. As more businesses, GCCs, come on board, we do expect the story to continue.
We will continue to invest in office assets more and more. It is our strength. The offices’ contribution to our revenue is over 90 per cent.
Data centres and logistics are a part of our diversification strategy. By 2028, we are expecting data centres to contribute about 25 per cent of our revenue from the current contribution of 3–4 per cent. Valuation of our four data centres is Rs 3,505.6 crore as of December 2024.
CLINT’s net property income has grown at a 13% CAGR. What kind of growth are you expecting going ahead?
We would be happy to maintain similar numbers. More than net property income, we want to focus on DPU. Top-line growth of about 13–14 per cent is fantastic. It is very difficult to maintain that, and if we can achieve that, we will be more than happy.
We are experiencing a slowdown in India's IT/ITeS sectors. Has it impacted you in any way?
There are some headwinds because of AI and all that is coming up, but it is getting compensated for by the growth in GCCs. They are coming in, with each taking 0.5 msf of space and looking to grow further. Forty-five to 50 per cent of our tenants are GCCs.
We are not worried about it. These are industrial cycles.
What is your analysis of the current global economic environment? How would you assess its impact on India's commercial real estate?
There is a little bit of real impact. We are expected to grow somewhere about 6.5 per cent or thereabouts. Maybe this will shave off 0.25 or 0.5 of that.
But on the other side, one cannot take these things at face value. We will have to wait and watch how this pans out.
Immediately, everybody starts wondering what is going to happen. And when one has these doubts, decisions get delayed. Investments get delayed. It is that second-order effect which I am more worried about. First order, not really. We have survived much bigger sanctions in the past.
Going ahead, what kind of challenges do you foresee, particularly for the office segment in India?
These are interesting times, as a lot is happening on the geopolitical side.
Talent is there, but can the talent be retained? There is a cost arbitrage, but how long will it be there? There is an AI angle coming in. Will it impact the office, or will it benefit data centres? These are some of the factors.
Availability of labour has become a challenge. The industry needs to evolve the construction technologies that it is using. Infrastructure in a few markets where we operate has never really caught on.
Otherwise, things seem to be really on a good trajectory. Fundamentals are all looking positive.
