Wadhwa Group receives Rs 300 crore investments from a Japenese company Marubeni Corporation.

Japanese institutional investor Marubeni Corporation has decided to invest Rs 300 crore into a 1 million sqft residential project ‘Atmosphere’ of real estate developer Wadhwa Group in Mumbai’s Mulund suburb.

This is the maiden investment Marubeni has created in Indian real estate. In a statement, it said it would invest in the project by subscribing to Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) provided by Atmosphere Realty, a project subsidiary of the firm.

The investment will be used in the second phase-Atmosphere O2-being constructed by Atmosphere Realty. The project’s first phase has already been finished and allotted to 650 customers. The deal arrives at a moment when several deals are being placed on the backburner because of the coronavirus pandemic that is affecting global economic growth.

Wadhwa Group is constructing the residential project, spread across 4.72 acres on Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR), in partnership with Man Infra Construction and Chandak Group. The project of 700 apartments is scheduled to be finished by December 2025.

“Marubeni will carry its significant expertise from the development of real estate in Japan, China and the ASEAN area to the table for this project, and will coordinate with Wadhwa,” Marubeni said. With this deal, Marubeni intends the Indian market to rise as a pillar of its overseas real estate activities.

The activities of the Japanese conglomerate in India will not be restricted to promoting smart cities and other similar real estate development sector, but the organization will also be venturing into a variety of relevant development businesses in the future, including the maintenance of social infrastructure, new sales channels and services that such businesses provide.

In addition to the U.S., Singapore, and Chinese investors, many Japanese investors and developers are seeking opportunities in this segment despite the comparatively stronger forecasts of economic development.

In 2018, after agreeing to deploy Rs 180 crore for 70% stake in a residential property built by Shriram Properties in Chennai, Mitsubishi Corporation became the first Japanese company to invest in Indian real estate. Last year, Japanese firm Sumitomo Corporation concluded one of the country’s biggest land transactions when it acquired a 3-acre parcel of land in Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) business district for Rs 2,238 crore.