Morgan Stanley has named Shirish Godbole as the head of its global real estate investment fund in India, the Wall Street bank said on Monday, as it looks to tap opportunities in a sector that has been badly hit by a cash crunch.
Godbole, who had spent 13 years with Morgan Stanley earlier including as co-head of its commercial real estate finance business in Europe, will be based in Mumbai, the bank said in a statement.
He later moved to Goldman Sachs to work at its real estate investment arm in India, before quitting to join entrepreneurial ventures in India.
Godbole will replace Naresh Naik, who, sources told Reuters earlier this month, has left Morgan Stanley to explore setting up his own fund.
Morgan Stanley has invested in Indian property firms such as Oberoi Realty Ltd as well as in several real estate projects since the launch of its investment arm in Asia’s third-largest economy in 2006.
The bank sees significant investment opportunities in India, said Hoke Slaughter, Asia head of Real Estate Investing — its global real estate investment arm — as property firms struggle to raise cash to complete projects or pay off mounting debts.
Real estate firms in India have come under pressure as 13 interest rate increases in the past 18 months have raised funding costs, while sales have remained sluggish.
Some banks, including top lender State Bank of India and No. 2 ICICI Bank, have become selective in lending to the sector on fears of a rise in bad loans.
A large number of property developers, who were looking to tap the equity markets, have either deferred or aborted their plans due to a weak stock market, creating opportunities for private investment funds.
Morgan Stanley declined to comment on its strategy for India property investment arm, but sources close to its plans said that the unit was focussing on investment opportunities in real estate projects in top cities.
