INSIDE CAPITALAND'S INDIA EXPANSION SPREE

The Singaporean asset manager is looking to ride the India growth story. But there's more to it

- Madhurima Nandy

In the not-so-distant past, like business complexes around the world, International Tech Park Bangalore (ITPB), a sprawling 69-acre campus in the city's Whitefield suburb, had gone quiet as the covid pandemic saw employers shift to work-from-home, and later, to hybrid work.

But on a Friday afternoon last month, ITPB, which is dotted with all kinds of commercial buildings, including a mall, a premium hotel, recreational facilities, and the offices of the world's biggest multinationals, was teeming with people.

Some of the older edifices in the 30-year-old park are now getting a facelift. And in one corner, a massive parking lot has been turned into a construction site, where nearly 2.4 million sq. ft of new office space is coming up.

ITPB epitomizes a larger story that is playing out across India. Office goers are back and demand for offices is booming.

And Singapore-headquartered CapitaLand Investment (CLI), which operates ITPB and is its majority owner, is making the most of this renewal as part of a concerted India play.

Last September, the Singaporean company announced that it was looking to more than double its $5.7 billion funds under management in India by 2028. The new investments will be in existing businesses-office parks, logistics and industrial real estate, data centres, and lodging-as well as in new areas such as renewable energy and private credit for real estate.

CLI already has a number of commercial projects under construction or in the pipeline in cities across India.

The real estate investor's decision to have a broader presence in the country has been prompted to a large extent by the growth prospects of the Indian economy. But that isn't the sole reason. CLI has also been pushed to diversify its Asian investments in the face of mounting challenges in a key market.

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