BENGALURU: CapitaLand, the Singapore-based diversified real estate group, wants to double its commercial space portfolio in India post the acquisition of Ascendas-Singbridge, its chief executive said. The company, which has a substantial presence in retail, hospitality and lodging segments in China and Singapore, is looking at 40 million sqft, from its current 17.4 million, in the next five years.
“Out of the 40 million, 28 million will be in the office space where most of the demand is, the remaining will be from logistics and warehousing,” CEO Lee Chee Koon said.
CapitaLand bought Ascendas-Singbridge from sovereign wealth fund Temasek for about $8 billion earlier this year. Ascendas has office parks and warehouses in six cities across India and counts TCS, Mu Sigma and General Motors among its clients Another 18 million is in different stages of construction, while 7 million sqft through forward purchases have been signed up. A forward contract is a private agreement between two parties giving the buyer an obligation to purchase an asset at a set price at a future time. India and Vietnam are CapitaLand’s two most important markets after Singapore and China. Singapore-based investors and developers, which include GIC and Xander, have expanded their presence in India’s property market and especially the office market in the last few years.
February 27, 2020