U.S.-based real estate firm Hines, on Monday, launched ‘Hines India Residential’ to invest in residential developments in key urban centres of India. The firm, which had entered the Indian real estate market in 2006, has tied up with a global fund to invest $250 million (over Rs.1,500 crore) in various housing projects.
Hines Country Head & Senior Managing Director Yash Gupta said, “We have formed a joint venture with an international finance company to invest in residential development in India with an initial capitalisation of $250 million.” He declined to name the global fund. The joint venture would invest in the form of equity in the housing projects in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune. “We will partner local developers and we are in discussion with major builders. We are looking at doing 3-5 projects over the next 2-3 years. We are targeting mid-income housing projects where there is maximum demand,” he said. The first housing project was likely to be announced in the January-March quarter and investment in a single project could be in a range of Rs.300-500 crore, Mr. Gupta said. Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. At present, Hines manages 391 properties totalling 161 million sq. ft., including 89.1 million sq. ft. for third parties. It has offices in 115 cities in 18 countries, and controlled assets valued at about $28.2 billion.
