Date:21/12/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/12/21/stories/2005122103101500.htm

Back Anand Rathi Realty Fund raises Rs 150 cr, targets tier-2 cities

Our Bureau

Mumbai , Dec. 20

ANAND Rathi Realty Fund has closed its first scheme by raising Rs 150 crore.

The Fund with a target corpus of Rs 500 crore will focus on partnering with developers in tier-2 cities to cater to the growing demand for quality residential space in these cities and also earmark some investments in rental income yielding office properties.

"Our main focus is to invest in residential projects as they provide a self-liquidating exit for our investments unlike other asset classes such as shopping malls and hotels which require a mature secondary market that does not exist at present," said Mr Sumit Anand, CEO, AR Venture Funds, in a press release.

He said the fund will be targeting gateway cities such as Coimbatore, Mysore, Pune, Ludhiana, Kanpur and Agra as these cities are the economic hubs in different parts of the country.

On the fund's future plans, Mr Amit Rathi, Managing Director, Anand Rathi Securities, said: "Given the ongoing interest in global markets for Indian real estate, we are planning to launch an overseas $75 million fund.

"This will consolidate our initiative to provide a fund based investment platform to global investors who are keen to diversify in Indian real estate assets."