RMZ Corp-CPPIB JV to build $210-mn retail space

RMZ Corp, one of Asia's largest privately-owned real estate owners & developers, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) has announced a joint venture to develop commercial office space in Chennai and Hyderabad. CPP Investments will invest $210 million, which will allow the development of 10.4 million square feet of high-quality commercial office sites. Manoj Menda, Corporate Chairman of RMZ Corp informed that RMZ is widely recognized as one of the most innovative and prolific developers in Asia and its partnership with CPP Investments, a globally renowned institutional investor, will strengthen its vision of achieving a hyper-growth strategy target of RMZ 2.0.

Arshdeep Sethi, Managing Director, RMZ Corp, said that the value of the partnership assets, once developed, is estimated to be over USD 1.5 billion. With equity deals for assets over the last few months, it has ample headroom to achieve its next phase of growth. The three sites that form this transaction - RMZ Nexity (Hyderabad), RMZ Spire (Hyderabad) and RMZ One Paramount (Chennai) - are Grade-A developments and will be examples of the highest-quality commercial space within the cities once completed.

MD, Real Estate - India, CPP Investments, Hari Krishna informed that, of the 10.4 million square feet included in the transaction, 7.5 million square feet is already under active development with the construction of the remaining space due to commence shortly. As India continues to be a strong source of global talent, demand for collaborative and engaging workspace is expected to grow.