HDFC Capital Advisors, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Housing Development Finance Company (HDFC), on Thursday said it has closed its second affordable housing fund, called HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund–2 (H-CARE-2). H-CARE-2 will be combined with HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund–1 (H-CARE-1), raised in 2016, to create a $1-billion platform targeting affordable and middle-income residential projects in India’s top 15 cities. The main objective of the platform is to provide long-term, equity and mezzanine capital to developers at the land and pre-approval stage for the development of affordable and middle-income housing projects. The primary investor in both funds is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). HDFC will be the sponsor, while HDFC Capital Advisors will be the investment manager for H-CARE-2. Both entities have together made a fund commitment of $550 million.
The development footprint of H-CARE-2 will be 75 million square feet across affordable and middle-income projects over a period of two to three years. HDFC vice-chairman and CEO Keki Mistry said the two funds will look to build long-term funding platforms. “Affordable housing is a critical component of quality urban infrastructure as also a growth driver for the real estate industry in India. H-CARE 1 and H-CARE 2 will look to partner with developers to form long-term platforms focusing on affordable and mid income housing.”