Shobhit Agarwal, MD & CEO – ANAROCK Capital
As India rises to greater prominence on the world map, global corporates are more eager than ever to participate in the country’s growth story.
A GDP growth rate of 7% plus, a population base of over 1.2 billion and an urbanization rate northward of 30% are irresistible investment magnets, and real estate development remains a key focus area.
India opened its doors to FDI way back in the 2000s, and since then not only much-needed capital but also critical expertise has flowed in. No doubt, the subprime crisis of 2008 led to a decline in foreign fund inflows; however, today the situation has turned and certainly looks upbeat.
The real estate sector was among the main beneficiaries of the opening up of FDI into the country and has transformed significantly as a result. In the past few decades, it has metamorphosed from an unorganized, closely-held business to an increasingly organized and a corporatized one.
The recent structural changes including demonetization, the crackdown of Benami transactions, RERA and GST may have had short-term negative impacts, but they also encouraged the inflow of foreign funding which always reacts favourably to signs of increasing transparency,