Trikona to invest $10 bn

Trikona Capital, a UK-based fund that invests in Indian property, may spend as much as $10 billion in the country's real estate market over a decade, Co-Founder and Managing Director Aashish Kalra said.

Trikona has invested $450 million in a dozen transactions in India over the past one-and-a-half years, Kalra said. It is investing in two special economic zones with 10 million sq ft around New Delhi and wants to spend more as growth boosts demand for homes, offices and industrial parks.

"It's the middle income, middle India growth story"�that's what we are all about,'' Kalra said today. "Our viewpoint is put a billion dollars every year in the country over the next decade and continue making money and returning wealth to our shareholders.''

Investors and developers are seeking a share of rising demand in the world's fastest-growing major economy after China. The fund is betting that India's rising salaries will accelerate demand for offices, factories, shops and houses.

Kalra had predicted a year ago the fund will invest $5 billion in India over seven years. Trikona raised $445 million in an initial public offering in April 2006, and has invested in Indian real estate companies including Phoenix Mills and Fortis Healthcare.

India's $906 billion economy grew an average 8.6 per cent over the past four years, and may expand by about 8.7 per cent in the year to March 31.

Demand in India could come from industrial parks and so- called Grade "B" offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore, Kalra said. Grade B refers to spaces that don't command top rents.