Big Boys' Game
When Mike Holland, now the CEO of Embassy Office Parks, first came to India in late 1997, the commercial property market was crumbling, much like the rest of the real estate sector.
The South Asian crisis had swept India too and property prices were in a free fall. At the tony MG Road in Bengaluru, real estate rates fell from Rs 7,000 per sq. ft in 1995 to Rs 3,500 per sq. ft. Only small offices were available for technology companies, which had just started entering India after globalisation. The annual demand for office space was less than 3 million sq. ft and Holland struggled to find a hoist or even a tower crane for building construction.
Cut to 2019. The commercial real estate sector is brimming with marquee global private equity players and funds. Blackstone, Xander, Brookfield, Mapletree Investments, Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, GIC, Ascendas Singbridge, APG Group, Allianz are all betting big on India's realty story. The rate per sq. ft is Rs
