GIC, ESR set up $600 mln India JV to buy industrial, logistics assets

Blue Dart Express

03/11/2022 04:23

BENGALURU, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Singapore's sovereign
wealth fund GIC and real estate investment manager ESR Group
 1821.HK  have partnered to set up a $600 million joint venture
to buy profit-making industrial and logistics assets in India,
they said on Thursday.
    The new JV, in which GIC is an 80% owner, is an extension of
an existing partnership between the entities in the country. It
will invest in "stabilised operational assets" in tier 1 and
tier 2 cities of the country.
    A host of Indian corporations, including logistics firm Blue
Dart Express  BLDT.NS  and staffing solutions provider Quess
 QUEC.NS  have been expanding in metros as well as smaller
cities to tap into the demand for online shopping from the
country's growing middle class.
    GIC and ESR expect industrial and logistics assets to
outperform other real estate and infrastructure assets in the
medium term on the back of a surge in online shopping as well as
store purchases.
    "India is at the cusp of a supply chain transformation
supported by automation, digitisation, and favourable government
policies," ESR India Chief Executive Officer Abhijit Malkani
said in a statement.
 (Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by
Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
 ((Praveen.Paramasivam@thomsonreuters.com; https://twitter.com/PraveenR_P
 ; +91 867-525-3569;))