PREI Goes To India

Prudential Real Estate Investors (PREI) in Parsippany today said it is investing in Indian properties through Beekman Helix India Partners (BHI), a merchant bank based in McLean, Va. PREI has made three investments totaling $50 million so far in a program managed by BHI, whichPrudential Real Estate Investors (PREI) in Parsippany today said it is investing in Indian properties through Beekman Helix India Partners (BHI), a merchant bank based in McLean, Va.

PREI has made three investments totaling $50 million so far in a program managed by BHI, which will provide deal sourcing, acquisition and asset management services. The deals were made on behalf of German institutional investors in PREI’s Asia Property Fund I.

PREI estimates that higher-quality commercial real estate in India totals about $100 billion, or roughly 0.6 percent of global commercial real estate stock, which should rise to more than 3 percent.

“Favorable demographics, a large pool of educated and skilled labor, a liberalized macroeconomic policy environment and greater foreign investment and exports are accelerating India’s economic growth,” said Dipa Kapas, PREI director of research.

PREI, the real estate investment management and advisory division of Newark-based Prudential Financial (NYSE: PRU), managed some $32.9 billion of gross assets for more than 300 clients as of last September.

Shares of Prudential Financial dipped $0.38 to $87.80 during afternoon trading.