KKR, the global private equity and investment house, has set up a non-banking financial firm to serve India’s property market, while GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, has put a stake into the venture.

KKR, the global private equity and investment house with more than $96 billion of assets under management, has set up a non-banking financial firm to serve India’s property market, while GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, has put a stake into the venture.

The size of the GIC investment into the venture wasn’t disclosed in the KKR statement yesterday. This publication is in contact with KKR seeking details on the size of that stake.

The company will “provide structured credit solutions to the real estate sector in India”, the statement said

“While many lenders provide debt to this sector, there is a need for solution-oriented, non-dilutive capital for property developers. We intend to fill that gap and contribute to the continued development of India's residential and commercial real estate sectors,” Ralph Rosenberg, global head of KKR real estate, said.

The venture represents KKR's second NBFC in India.

“KKR has seen that India's large and growing business community welcomes non-traditional entities that allow companies to tap into a more sophisticated capital markets system and provide them with greater choice beyond traditional equity or bank loans. Since 2009, KKR has extended more than US$2 billion of structured financing to 21 business groups in India through its credit and capital markets business,” it added.