Hines, the international real estate firm, has launched a new $250 mln investment vehicle known as Hines India Residential along with an international partner for investment into the Indian housing real estate sector.
With offices in 115 cities in 18 countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $28.2 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world.
At a time when most realtors are facing a cash crunch due to stagnancy in the real estate market in the country, Hines is planning to acquire stakes in several residential projects, the company said.
“This initiative has been conceived to invest in multi-phased, for-sale residential developments that require long-term equity capital, with a particular focus in key urban centers of India, like the National Capital Region (NCR), the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Bangaluru and Pune,” it said.
The program has an initial capitalization of more than Rs 1,500 crore and will seek to work with local Indian developers.
“The partnership will leverage local partners’ Indian experience and Hines global know-how in designing and developing differentiated residential products that creates value for end users,” it said.
Hines’ local platform team, led by Country Head & Sr. Managing Director , Yash Gupta, will provide on-the-ground risk management, and a dedicated management team led by Senior Managing Director, Leo Chen will provide investment management oversight in order to conceive and execute long-term, multi-phase development projects.
The firm’s historical and current portfolio of projects that are underway, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes 1,317 properties representing more than 541 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. Currently, Hines manages 391 properties totaling 161 million square feet, which includes 89.1 million square feet for third parties.
The Indian developers will benefit from Hines’ global residential experience, which comprises more than 58,000 units (2.2 million square meters) in nine countries, the company said.
Jeff Hines, President and CEO, Hines Group, said, “In emerging markets that are undersupplied in all asset classes, the execution of Hines’ best practices by dedicated, local and long-tenured management teams results in a strict approach to risk management that is flexible for local conditions and ultimately delivers better performance for our investors.
Mr. Yash Gupta, Country Head & Sr. Managing Director, Hines India Limited, added, “Hines is very pleased to add residential to our India platform and look forward to delivering a number of exciting projects in this sector. The early-stage availability and flexible duration of our equity commitments will reduce our projects’ exposure to the market cyclicality that has plagued Indian residential development. Our approach should unlock and maximize land value.”
Hines has been present in the India real estate market since 2006, where the firm manages approximately $455 million of property assets, including $230 million owned or controlled by Hines and its affiliates.
Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide.