Indian realty offers $77 bn biz vistas

In the emerging scenario of the country’s real estate sector, India is likely to provide investment opportunity of upto $77 billion through REITs, especially in the commercial and retail segments across top seven cities by 2020. Across these cities including Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, and Pune, among others, ready commercial space eligible for REIT investments of 277 million sq. ft, accounting for less than half (44%) of total office stock in India, said MD, Cushman & Wakefield India, Anshul Jain, adding that over the last year, the government has not only streamlined the taxation policy of REITs, but also eased regulations that have warmed up investors to REITs in India. The commercial office market is likely to be on an upward trajectory steered by an improving economic outlook, as well as strong demand from certain sectors such as IT-BPM, BFSI, FMCG, and Pharmaceutical sectors going ahead. In such a buoyant environment, the Indian market is well-placed to witness the listing of REITs, led by the government's initiatives to ease policies for the investment vehicle.