Apollo makes $1 billion bets on Indian property with a lending plan.

India's housing market saw a strong rebound from the depths of the coronavirus pandemic as low-interest rates and discounts by developers fueled demand.

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Apollo Global Management Inc. plans to lend about $1 billion to developers in India this year, betting on a recovery in the residential property market as the pandemic eases.

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That's up from the $750 million that Apollo lent to Indian developers last year, with two-thirds of that sum directed to residential projects, according to Nipun Sahni, a partner at the private equity firm.

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About 70% of this year's lending will go to home builders and the rest to commercial developers. " The market volumes are back to pre-Covid level and in some markets it's higher than 2019,"

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Sahni said in an interview. "It is consolidating rapidly, with the number of unsold homes in India at 10-year low, which is a sign that prices can have an uptick."

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According to its website, Apollo, which opened its Mumbai office in 2008, currently manages about $513 billion of assets globally.

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The firm began lending to Indian property developers in 2017.

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