Singapore-based global asset manager Hillhouse Investment is preparing to significantly expand its presence in India, with data centres and specialised real estate expected to receive a substantial share of the new capital.
The investment firm plans to double its India exposure over the next two to three years. Hillhouse has already deployed more than $2 billion across real estate, private equity and credit, while its commitments in the country now cover assets worth close to $4 billion, according to The Economic Times.
Real estate emerges as a strategic priority
India has become Hillhouse’s largest real estate market in Asia. The country accounts for approximately one-third of the firm’s real asset investments, with more than $1 billion in equity deployed.
Hillhouse began investing in Indian real estate in 2022 and has since committed around $1.2 billion to the sector. The firm believes that India’s growing economy, improving infrastructure, expanding Global Capability Centre ecosystem and increasing adoption of technology are creating opportunities across emerging property categories.
Instead of limiting its strategy to the purchase and sale of individual properties, Hillhouse intends to establish specialised operating platforms. This approach involves working with local entrepreneurs, building management teams and providing capital as the businesses expand.
Hillhouse’s real asset division, Rava Partners, works with Alta Capital as its operating partner in India. Rava’s stated investment strategy focuses on developing large platforms across logistics, digital infrastructure, life sciences, education and other segments experiencing structural demand. Rava Partners describes its model as building companies that can address supply gaps across Asia’s new economy.
Data centres identified as a long-term opportunity
Data centres will be among the most important areas of the proposed expansion. Hillhouse is reportedly creating a separate co-investment pool for the sector, recognising that building a scaled data-centre business in India could require several billion dollars.
The firm’s representatives estimate that India generates around 20% of the world’s data but hosts only 2% to 3% of global data-centre capacity. This imbalance, combined with the growth of cloud computing, artificial intelligence and data-localisation requirements, is expected to support long-term demand.
Rava Partners’ existing portfolio includes Nexus, a pan-India powered core-and-shell data-centre platform developed in partnership with Panchshil Realty. It also backs DayOne, a major Asia-Pacific data-centre operator with facilities across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Japan.
The wider Indian market is already entering a major capacity-building phase. ICRA expects the country’s third-party data-centre capacity to increase from approximately 1,250 MW in March 2025 to 2,500 MW by March 2028. The expansion could involve investments of about ₹90,000 crore over three years. ICRA’s projections also point to growing interest beyond established data-centre markets such as Mumbai, Chennai and Noida.
Logicap demonstrates Hillhouse’s platform strategy
Hillhouse has already applied its platform-building approach to India’s logistics and warehousing industry through Logicap.
Established four years ago, Logicap has expanded its portfolio from less than two million sq. ft. to approximately 25 million sq. ft. through a combination of acquisitions and new developments.
Its recent transactions include the acquisition of 2.6 million sq. ft. of warehousing assets in Chennai and Kolkata for about ₹1,500 crore. The company is also expected to acquire another one million sq. ft. facility in Bhiwandi near Mumbai. These additions follow its earlier purchase of 2.5 million sq. ft. of assets from IndoSpace. Mint reports that the latest expansion has made Logicap one of India’s three largest industrial and warehousing operators.
Beyond logistics and data centres, Hillhouse is exploring opportunities in education infrastructure, managed offices, rental housing, senior living and second homes. Its India-linked portfolio already includes managed workspace provider Table Space, education infrastructure platform Elevate and luxury residential company Isprava.
Hillhouse’s planned expansion reflects a broader change in India’s real estate investment landscape. Institutional capital is increasingly moving beyond conventional offices, retail properties and residential developments into specialised assets supported by digitalisation, changing consumer behaviour and new business models.
For India’s construction and building-services industries, the growth of these large institutional platforms could generate sustained demand for advanced infrastructure, efficient building systems and professionally managed developments across multiple asset classes.