real estate sector
Singapore’s asset management company Lighthouse Canton is going to invest more than $ 1.5 billion (about ₹ 13,000 crore) in India in the coming years. The company’s focus will be on private credit and real estate sectors. This information was given by senior officials of the company. Sankat Sinha, MD and CEO of the company’s Global Asset Management Business, said that the target is to invest $1 billion in private credit and $500 million in real estate in the next three to four years. Sinha said, India will be one of the most important markets for us for alternative investments like real estate and private credit. We are confident that India will become one of the largest investment centers for lighthouse cantons in the times to come.
Currently, the company has invested more than $350 million in India and is managing a life sciences real estate portfolio of approximately 12 lakh square feet in Hyderabad, which includes research and development labs. The company also runs a growth debt fund in India and South-East Asia, which invests in mid to growth stage companies. Apart from this, there is also an India-focused venture equity fund. Lighthouse Canton has more than $4 billion of assets under management worldwide.
Preparation to launch new private credit fund
Now the company is planning to launch a new private credit fund focused on India. The target is to raise 10 to 15 billion rupees (about $114-171 million) from this fund by January 2026. Pranab Gupta, MD of the company’s India Alternatives business, said, in this private credit fund, we will focus on companies that have cross-border opportunities, need financing for acquisitions, business turnaround situations, or asset-light companies like IT and SaaS that have strong cash flows.
India’s private credit market grew rapidly
India’s private credit market is growing rapidly as many companies are now turning to alternative funding from traditional banks for acquisitions, dividend payments or promoter funding. According to EY’s August report, about 55% of the total investment in India’s private credit market in the last three years has come from global funds. According to the S&P Global report, by March 2025, this sector will have assets worth $25-30 billion, which is about 0.6% of India’s GDP and 1.2% of corporate lending.
According to Gupta, there are good investment opportunities in the mid-market segment (where the deal size is $10-50 million). Currently, Lighthouse Canton has seven offices in India and the company is preparing to further expand its real estate business in Bengaluru and Mumbai.