According to people familiar with the matter, Kotak Investment Advisors Limited, supported by Asia’s richest banker Uday Kotak, is considering raising about $1 billion for a new fund keen to invest in India’s residential real estate.
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority could chip about $500 million into the property fund. However, according to media reports, Allianz SE could invest about $220 million. Kotak Investment plans to complete the fundraising by the year-end and to board on its investment in 2023, meeting on residential property in India’s top five cities, a person said. Debates are ongoing, and the person added that facts, including size and investor lineup, could still change.
Councils for ADIA, Allianz, and Kotak Investment declined to comment. The market has recently shown softening signs in response to the nation’s central bank tightening monetary policy to control inflation.
The RBI raised the key interest rate by 0.5% to 5.9% last month, its 4th consecutive hike, taking its cumulative tightening from May to 190 bps. House sale volumes in the largest nine cities declined 7% in the second quarter, according to PropEquity. Annually, the volumes are still up 96%.
Started in 2005 as part of Kotak Mahindra Group, Kotak Investment raised about $6.3 billion from various funds and platforms, according to its website. It set up a $590 million platform with ADIA in June, focusing on property investment. Kotak Investment has raised, succeeded, or advised more than $2.8 billion under its real estate fund series. Uday Kotak founded Mumbai-based Kotak Mahindra Bank provides commercial and investment banking, insurance and brokerage services. Kotak’s net worth is about $13.9 billion as the country’s ninth-richest person, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.