REITs bring hopes to cash-strapped Indian real estate

The launch of India's first Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and its initial public offering last week has come as a positive move for the cash-starved Indian real estate sector. The IPO of Embassy Office Parks REIT, India's first REIT to be listed, was fully subscribed on Wednesday, the last day of the three-day initial share sale, according to data on the stock exchanges. Embassy Office Parks is a joint venture between Embassy Group and private equity firm Blackstone Group. The 'Embassy REIT' IPO was oversubscribed on Wednesday after the issue of up to 158 million units at a price of Rs 300 per unit aggregating up to Rs 4,750 crore. The key stakeholders of the 'Embassy REIT' includes Axis Bank, as the trustee, Embassy Office Parks, the manager, and Embassy and Blackstone as the sponsors.