In a press statement today (22 Dec), GIC said it has entered into a joint venture (JV) with ESR Cayman in a partnership to develop and own institutional-grade, “state-of-the-art” industrial and logistics facilities as well as acquire core assets in cities across India.
The JV will be seeded with a build-to-core asset of around 2.2 million square feet located in close proximity to Mumbai and Thane.
Both companies have jointly committed US$750 million in the JV, with GIC owning 80 percent.
“GIC has been investing in India for more than a decade, and this investment is testament to our confidence in the long-term potential of this market,” said Lee Kok Sun, chief investment officer of real estate at GIC.
Kishore Gotety, Co-Head of Real Estate, GIC, said, “Continued e-commerce growth in India over the long term, reinforced by rising internet penetration, is expected to drive strong demand for industrial and logistics assets.”
“This is further supported by the emphasis on infrastructure development, changing supply chains, and low vacancy levels. This Joint Venture is well-positioned to benefit from these tailwinds, bring institutional-grade assets into this market, and generate resilient returns,” he added.
Abhijit Malkani and Jai Mirpuri, Country Heads, ESR India, said, “We are very excited to extend our partnership with GIC as it firmly demonstrates ESR’s capability and track record of developing best-in-class, strategically located industrial and logistics facilities in prime locations across India.”
The press release also stated that a confluence of positive factors – including the continued e-commerce expansion, increasing infrastructure investment, supply chain modernisation, and favourable government policies – will continue to drive the consolidation of industrial and logistics real estate and booming demand for logistics infrastructure across India.
The press release added that Abhijit Malkani and Jai Mirpuri led the “seasoned local management team” of ESR in India.
ESR Cayman, which is listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, is an Asia-Pacific-focused logistics real estate platform. As at June 30 this year, the fair value of the properties directly held by ESR Cayman and the assets under management with respect to the funds and investment vehicles managed by the Hong Kong-listed firm was around US$26.5 billion.
The transaction is said to be still subject to relevant regulatory approvals.