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Singapore-based firm Lighthouse Canton plans to deploy more than USD 1.5 billion in India over the next three to four years, with over USD 1 billion earmarked for private credit and USD 500 million aimed at real estate. Already having invested over USD 350 million in Indian alternative assets and managing a 1.2 million sq ft life-sciences real-estate portfolio in Hyderabad, the firm is launching an India-focused private credit fund targeted at raising INR 10-15 billion by January 2026. The strategy aligns with rising demand for private credit in India and broadens Lighthouse's presence via seven offices and expansions in Bengaluru and Mumbai.
Singapore-based global investment firm Lighthouse Canton has announced its intention to invest more than USD 1.5 billion in India in the coming years, focusing primarily on private credit and real-estate, senior executives told Reuters. The company plans to allocate over USD 1 billion to private credit and USD 500 million to real-estate over a period of three to four years, said Sanket Sinha, Managing Director and CEO of the firm's global asset-management business. Advertisement
Sinha added that India will be "one of our top plays" in the alternatives space spanning private equity in real estate and private credit, and the firm anticipates India becoming one of its largest investment destinations. To date, Lighthouse has already deployed over USD 350 million in Indian alternative assets and manages a real-estate portfolio of approximately 1.2 million square feet, concentrated in life-sciences research and development labs in Hyderabad.
On the private credit side, the firm is setting up a new India-focused fund, with a target raise of INR 10 billion to INR 15 billion (approximately USD 113.8 million to USD 170.7 million) by January 2026. Pranob Gupta, Managing Director - India Alternatives at Lighthouse, said the fund will target companies with cross-border opportunities, acquisition financing, turnaround investing, and asset-light firms with strong cash flows, such as IT or SaaS companies.
The backdrop for this move is India's rapidly expanding private credit market. Companies increasingly turn to this segment for acquisition financing, dividend recaps and promoter funding areas less well served by traditional banks. According to an EY report, global funds have accounted for nearly 55 % of capital inflows into Indian private credit in the past three years. Meanwhile, an S&P Global estimate places assets under management in this sector at USD 25-30 billion as of March 2025 equivalent to about 0.6 % of India's GDP and 1.2 % of corporate lending.
Gupta identified the "mid-market" segment deals sized between USD 10 million and USD 50 million as especially attractive for the new fund. Reflecting its India growth ambitions, Lighthouse currently operates seven offices in the country and is actively exploring further locations in Bengaluru and Mumbai, said Sinha.
In terms of real estate, the firm's existing life-sciences portfolio in Hyderabad underscores its focus on high-growth, specialised asset classes: in 2021, Lighthouse (with others) invested in a portfolio of about 0.85 million sq ft in the Genome Valley cluster, recognising the appeal of India's lab-space and R&D real-estate market.
Source Reuters
5th Jun, 2025
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