Singapore Fund to Target India Property

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Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte. is joining Ascendas Pte. to invest as much as S$600 million in commercial property in India, according to a company announcement.

The venture has launched the Ascendas India Growth Programme to invest in business space in cities including Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi National Capital Region, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune.

"The Programme builds upon our presence in India and offers an opportunity to share our expertise in developing and managing business space in the market," Manohar Khiatani, president of Ascendas, said in the announcement.

GIC will be the principal investor, the companies said.

Investment volumes by states funds like GIC have increases 26 percent in the past year, Bloomberg reports.

"The likes of Blackstone Group LP, Ascendas, Xander Group Inc. and GIC are among investors who are looking at putting together a string of commercial assets," Shashank Jain, executive director of transaction services at PwC, told Bloomberg. "They are looking at a stable yield-generating asset portfolio."

GIC opened its first office in Mumbai in 2011 and has already invested in properties in New York City, Jakarta and London this year.

Singapore-based Ascendas develops and manages business space in 25 cities across 10 countries including Singapore, China, India, South Korea and Australia, according to the company.