Indian mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corporation's (HDFC) investment advisory arm has reached financial close on its billion-dollar affordable real estate fund, which has Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the world's second largest sovereign wealth fund as a key backer.
HDFC Capital Advisors said on Thursday that it had raised $550 million in initial closure on its second affordable housing fund, which will be combined with an earlier fund launched in 2016 to create a $1bn investment pool.
The newly-created fund is set to have a development footprint of 75 million square feet across affordable and mid-income residential projects across 15 Indian cities over the period of two to three years, HDFC said in a statement.
"These funds will play a significant role in progressing towards the 'Housing for All by 2022' objective of the government," said Deepak Parekh chairman at HDFC.
"Affordable housing will not only act as a growth driver for the real estate industry in India but will also be a catalyst for GDP growth. The current lack of flexible, long-term capital is one of the key challenges facing developers of affordable and mid income housing in India," he added.
Affordable housing remains an underserved segment within India's lucrative real estate industry. The world's second most populous state is pushing through an ambitious agenda to bridge the housing gap by building 20 million affordable homes in urban areas by 2022 as well another 10 million rural parts of the country by 2018. However, the targets remain far from realised with a mere 300,000 being built so far under the government scheme implemented in 2015.
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"India’s housing market presents a compelling investment opportunity driven by the country’s continued economic growth and backed by supportive government initiatives," said Khadem Al Remeithi, executive director, real estate and infrastructure department at Adia.
"Our investment in HDFC’s platform aims to meet the strong demand for early-stage financing of housing projects and encourage the continued growth of the affordable and mid-income residential sector," he added.
Adia, whose portfolio size remains undisclosed has made significant inroads in the Indian real estate sector this year.
In October, Adia's wholly-owned subsidiary signed a $1 billion investment agreement with a India's National Investment and Infrastructure Fund to invest in energy, transportation and infrastructure-related sectors.
The Abu Dhabi fund has increasingly pivoted towards the east, increasing its portfolio in China and India, from where it expects continued growth.
Adia remains invested in a number of asset classes, including fixed income and equities in India. It was also reported in July to be in talks to buy 49 per cent of the Rajiv Gandhi Hyderabad International Airport, which serves the capital and IT-hub of the eastern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
"India’s housing market presents a compelling investment opportunity driven by the country’s continued economic growth and backed by supportive government initiatives. Our investment in HDFC’s platform aims to meet the strong demand for early-stage financing of housing projects and encourage the continued growth of the affordable and mid-income residential sector."
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
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- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
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Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
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Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
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Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)
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Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
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Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
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Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
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Company name: Nomad Homes
Started: 2020
Founders: Helen Chen, Damien Drap, and Dan Piehler
Based: UAE and Europe
Industry: PropTech
Funds raised so far: $44m
Investors: Acrew Capital, 01 Advisors, HighSage Ventures, Abstract Ventures, Partech, Precursor Ventures, Potluck Ventures, Knollwood and several undisclosed hedge funds
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Company name: Silkhaus
Started: 2021
Founders: Aahan Bhojani and Ashmin Varma
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Property technology
Funding: $7.75 million
Investors: Nuwa Capital, VentureSouq, Nordstar, Global Founders Capital, Yuj Ventures and Whiteboard Capital
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
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Full Party in the Park line-up
2pm – Andreah
3pm – Supernovas
4.30pm – The Boxtones
5.30pm – Lighthouse Family
7pm – Step On DJs
8pm – Richard Ashcroft
9.30pm – Chris Wright
10pm – Fatboy Slim
11pm – Hollaphonic
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Rating: 3.5/5
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PFA Premier League team of 2018-19
Allison (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)
Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
CHINESE GRAND PRIX STARTING GRID
1st row
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
2nd row
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-GP)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
3rd row
Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing)
4th row
Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
Sergio Perez (Force India)
5th row
Carlos Sainz Jr (Renault)
Romain Grosjean (Haas)
6th row
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Esteban Ocon (Force India)
7th row
Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren)
8th row
Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)
9th row
Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
Lance Stroll (Williams)
10th row
Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
arcus Ericsson (Sauber)
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