Bengaluru first Indian city to feature in top-ten destinations for cross-border investors

7) City: Bengaluru | Country: India | Tuition fees for international students: $100 per year (Image: Wiki Commons)

Bengaluru, the capital city of Karnataka, for the first time has been featured in the list of top ten destinations for cross-border investment across Asia Pacific. The total real estate investment in the city that was almost $800 million in 2017-18, more than doubled annually in 2018-19, according to CBRE's Asia Pacific Investor Intensions Survey 2019.

The survey revealed that India was among the top five preferred markets in APAC on the back of the launch of the first REIT (Embassy-Blackstone) and the resulting improved market transparency. The drivers for this trend were new infrastructure and potential growth opportunities in the market.

The first REIT by Embassy Group and Blackstone Group LP was launched in India in March this year and it is expected to catalyse investments in the country. Improved investor sentiment in office assets is likely to expose potential quality buildings as a fundraising avenue for developers and also propel major corporations to lease/purchase space in these developments.

"Bengaluru featured as the first Indian city in the list of preferred investment destination on the basis of its growing reputation across the globe as the home base to several international corporates. The city with a significant talent base and world-class infrastructure is also popular for offering several investment grade options in office, retail as well as residential segments," said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO, India, South East Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE.

On the overall positioning of the Indian real estate market in APAC, he said that "a stronger interest in office properties followed by industrial & logistics, multifamily, hotels and retail were the preferred sectors of investment in APAC. There is significant scope for investment in India and the rising consumption and growing demand in the logistics sector, particularly, will continue to stimulate investors to seek opportunities in this market."