NIIF invests ₹6.6-bn in affordable housing

In a major boost to the affordable housing, the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India has recently invested ₹6.6 billion in affordable real estate – 2 (H-CARE 2), which is an investment platform, managed by HDFC Capital Advisors (HCA) commanding a corpus of ₹42.9 bn. The Fund provides mezzanine finance to developers of mid-income and affordable urban housing projects. HCA is a wholly owned subsidiary of HDFC Ltd., and that the agreement, which marks the second investment for NIIF's Fund of Funds, will see NIIF join a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) as an investor in H-CARE 2, NIIF said in a statement. While the Chairman, HDFC, Deepak Parekh said the prevailing lack of flexible, long-term capital is one of the key challenges facing developers of affordable and mid income housing in India. This Fund will help address the demand-supply gap in affordable housing and will ensure that flexible affordable and smooth financing is made available for quality property projects builders.