Coronavirus Outbreak: PE investment in real estate falls 89% to $222 mn in January-March quarter: Report

New Delhi: Private equity (PE) investment in Indian real estate plunged 89 percent to $222 million (Rs 1,640 crore) during the January-March period this year on global economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak, according to a report by Colliers International. PE inflows in real estate had stood at $2,023 million in the corresponding period a year ago. The consultant projected that total PE investment in real estate could drop to $3.5 billion in the calendar year 2020 from $6.4 billion last year. Click here to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak Out of $222 million inflow in the first three months of this year, the office market attracted an investment of $143 million while the hospitality sector $79 million. [caption id=“attachment_7618201” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] During the January-March period of 2019, inflows in the office market stood at $1,419 million, housing $300 million, logistic $150 million, mixed-use projects $102 million and retail $52 million, the data showed. Click here to follow LIVE news and updates on stock markets “The current slowdown has resulted in reduced private equity inflows into the Indian real estate market. Overall private equity inflows dropped by 62 percent quarter-on-quarter and 89 percent year-on-year to stand at $222 million (Rs 1,640 crore) in Q1 2020,” Colliers International said in a report. Considering the COVID-19 outbreak, the consultant expects slower decision making by investors in the first half of 2020, which could constrain capital deployment in India. Colliers asked investors to explore opportunities in logistics and data centres as well as core commercial office assets. Distressed assets, especially in the hospitality and retail space, are also attractive, it said. “We expect opportunistic asset trade transactions to gain pace in the next 2-3 years as the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC 2016) becomes more established,” it said. Colliers International, which is listed on Nasdaq, is a leading real estate professional services and investment management company. It has operations in 68 countries with more than 15,000 headcounts. In 2019, corporate revenues were more than $3 billion ($3.5 billion including affiliates), with $33 billion of assets under management in its investment management segment.