India’s HDFC Capital, a private equity investment manager, said on Sunday it has raised $1.8 billion from investors, lead by a unit of sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), for its third low-cost housing fund.
This includes an upfront amount of $1.2 billion with an additional $600 million committed towards reinvestment of the principal amount, the company said in a statement.
HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund 3 will provide long-term finance to develop about 280 million square feet of affordable and mid-income housing projects across India. It will also invest in low-cost housing-related technology companies, it said.
A unit of lender Housing Development and Finance Corporation (HDFC) Ltd, HDFC Capital has a long-term plan to fund the development of one million affordable homes in India, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Housing for All’ campaign.
HDFC Capital, a wholly owned subsidiary of HDFC Ltd and acting as an investment manager, has achieved the initial close of its third fund of an estimated $1.88 billion (about Rs 13,989 crore) focussed on affordable housing, the HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund – 3 (H-CARE-3).
“In India, housing will play an even more important role as a catalyst for growth,” said Deepak Parekh, chairman of HDFC Ltd, in the statement.
Together with its first two funds, in which ADIA has also invested HDFC has a $3 billion funding platform making it one of the biggest in the world for affordable housing.
This builds on the success of previous funds, and addresses the significant demand for affordable housing in India. Said Khadem AlRemeithi, executive director, real estate and infrastructure department, ADIA.