It was early, early in the morning when we had this conversation. My co-host, Neel Naicker, CEO of AMP Technologies was in San Ramon, California, I was in Southern California and our special guest, Anuj Puri was in Mumbai. What was that, an 8 1/2 hour time difference? I’m still amazed at what we can do with technology now. It doesn’t seem that long ago when, as a child, I would run to our black, rotary phone in the kitchen when the phone would ring or how amazed I was when my sister got a “princess” phone for her own bedroom. Enough of the reminiscing, let’s get on with the topic of this show, which is…………………….one of the most promising countries for real estate investing.
Drum roll please……………… INDIA!!!
That’s right, not China, South Korea or the United States. India.
Now why do I say that? Well, To begin with the population of India is almost 4 times that of the United States. According to Anuj Puri, country head of JLL India, the focus of the new government has been on lifting the fortunes of all people in the country and making education more accessible. Reforms are being put in place and the country is encouraging foreign investment in real estate and manufacturing. There is also a growing educated populace which uses English as a primary business language. As Anuj says, in 3-4 years, it will be difficult to find the deals as compared to the present.
During this full audio version (podcast) of our interview with Anuj, Neel Naicker delves into the history and future of real estate investing in India. We talk about how the big players like Blackstone and Brookfield have bought into commercial real estate in India, becoming some of the biggest landlord’s in the country. How real estate reforms will help the development of new homes and the creation of REITS.
Anuj does stress that the forward progress of real estate in India has and is not without its challenges, but boy, in my opinion, it is moving in the right direction.
This interview, in its full form is about 1/2 hour in length. We will be creating some shorter videos if that’s how you take you information.
Neel has over 20 years of experience in Executive Management & Business Development. He has led many customer-focused initiatives that transformed existing business operations for Best Buy, a Fortune 100 company. In a Sales and Operations role, he oversaw the transformation of a $7 billion business line for Best Buy.
As Chairman & Country Head, Anuj is responsible for the overall direction, strategy and growth of the largest premier real estate services company in India – JLL. He is among the most respected leaders in Indian real estate industry and an acknowledged expert on India’s real estate opportunities both within India and across the globe. He is also a key member of the Asia Pac Leadership Group of JLL as well as the Global Head of Retail Leasing.
In his present capacity, Anuj oversees a team of over 8500 employees across 11 cities in India. He enjoys strong relationships with private investors as well as local & global corporates and interacts regularly with key clients to uncover opportunities in the rapidly emerging Indian real estate market
With over 26 years of experience in multi-disciplinary advisory and transactions ranging from real estate to social development projects, he has expertise in planning, undertaking demand assessment studies and transactional services including marketing strategies based on technical real estate market analysis. Anuj has successfully handled marketing of projects within Office, Retail, Hospitality and Residential domains. His vast expertise also encompasses feasibility studies, program requirement derivation as well as fund and investor sourcing.