Singapore-based company to double footprint in India
Singapore-based Ascendas-singbridge Group aims to double its commercial office portfolio in India in the next 4-5 years, besides launching its co-working brand ‘thebridge’, said a top company executive, adding that the investor-developer plans to ramp up and diversify its presence in the country.
In the last 20 years, Ascendassingbridge has built 16 million sq. ft of office assets across information technology (IT) parks in six cities in India. Now, it intends to step up the pace and add another 14-15 million sq ft. Currently, it has 2.5 billion Singapore dollars of assets under management (AUM) here. From being a pure commercial office developer, the firm had diversified into logistics and industrial real estate in 2017, when it partnered with Indian industrial real estate firm Firstspace. The venture is also funded by Temasek Holdings.
In a bid to further expand the scope of its business, Ascendassingbridge plans to set up co-working spaces under ‘thebridge’ brand, which it had launched in Singapore in 2017. The brand has set up centres in Shanghai and Hangzhou, in China, as well.
“We were the first foreign developer to enter India and spent the first 20 years in building a strong foundation. Now, we are ready to take the leap to the next level in terms of size and profitability of our business, or the offerings we will make, be it setting up data centres or co-working spaces,” Vinamra Srivastava, CEO for Ascendas’ India operations, and private funds, said in an interview.
The portfolio expansion will include acquisition of fresh land and greenfield projects, maximising development potential in existing land, as well as acquiring ready assets off the market.
“We are also increasingly entering into forward purchase agreements, where the land owners build the project according to our specifications,” Srivastava said.
Ascendas-singbridge has three main funding vehicles for projects in India: Its balance sheet, private funds and Ascendas India Trust, which is a listed real estate investment trust (REIT) in Singapore. The REIT holds the income-generating stabilised assets.