Keppel Land to co-develop commercial project in Bangalore

Singapore

KEPPEL Corporation's property arm Keppel Land has entered into a joint venture with Indian property developer Puravankara Limited to buy a 3.09 hectare site in Bangalore and develop Keppel's first commercial development in India, the group announced on Monday.

The two have entered into agreements through Keppel Puravankara Development (KPDL) to acquire the prime site in Yeshwantpur, Bangalore, from Metro Cash and Carry India Private Limited (MCCIN) for about 4.05 billion rupees (S$81 million).

KPDL will construct a 160,000 square foot retail-cum-office facility and a Grade A office tower with a gross floor area of 1.02 million sq ft on the site, which is about 5km north-west of Bangalore's city centre.

Construction is expected to commence after KPDL receives approval for the development and building plans from the relevant local authorities, which is expected to be in the second half H2 2019.

The retail-cum office facility will be handed over to MCCIN upon completion, while the Grade A office tower will remain under KPDL's management.

Keppel owns a 51 per cent stake in KPDL, while Puravankara holds the remaining 49 per cent stake.

"India is one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world, while Bangalore, as one of the primary hubs for the technology industry, is among the largest and fastest-growing office markets in the country," said Sam Moon Thong, president of regional investments for Keppel Land, adding that Bangalore has recorded the highest office space absorption in the Asia-Pacific in the last five years.

"We are pleased to further our collaboration with Puravankara who has a strong network and keen understanding of the local market. We believe this acquisition will further augment Keppel Land's commercial portfolio and will position us well to meet the urbanisation needs for prime office space in Bangalore."

Puravankara's managing director Ashish Puravankara noted that his company has been making conscious efforts to diversify its existing commercial portfolio over the past few years, and the partnership is in line with strategy to expand Puravankara's commercial presence.

"The timing of the project could not be better, seeing as the demand for office and retail space, especially in Bangalore, is on an upward trajectory and yielding good returns," he said.

"We believe that this upcoming project, with its prime location, will become a landmark in Yeshwantpur. We are very confident of the success of this venture."

Keppel Corp shares rose 8 Singapore cents or 1.1 per cent following the announcement to end at S$7.04 on Monday.