Morgan Stanley Invests $68 Million
In Indian Real-Estate Developer

Morgan Stanley said yesterday that its real-estate investment arm has placed about $68 million in private developer Mantri Developers Private Ltd., in the largest such stakeholding in India by a foreign investor.

The U.S. investment bank said it had taken a minority stake in the Bangalore-based company, but didn't elaborate.

The investment is Morgan Stanley's first real-estate foray in India, which last year liberalized rules on foreign investment in real-estate development and construction.

"We believe India presents an extremely compelling investment story and expect to be a long-term investor in the real-estate sector," said Sonny Kalsi, managing director and global head of Morgan Stanley's real-estate investment arm. "The residential market is attractive because of rapid urbanization, the availability of housing finance, and the strong growth of the consumer segment."

Mantri founder Sushil Mantri said in a statement that the partnership will help the company expand its presence in Bangalore "and other key markets."

Zain Fancy, executive director and head of Morgan Stanley's Asian real-estate unit, said that the investment bank will make more investments in both real-estate companies and "hard assets" such as buildings. "We see future opportunities in Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Poona," Mr. Fancy said.

Since 1991, Morgan Stanley has acquired $73.1 billion of real-estate assets world-wide and manages about $40 billion in real-estate assets on behalf of clients. In Asia, it has real-estate assets in China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Hong Kong.

Mantri, founded in 1999, focuses on residential, office and retail projects.

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