Blackstone has made its first foray into Indian real estate with the acquisition of a stake in a project management company that it can use as a springboard for other investments.

The entry of Blackstone’s property unit comes amid a record year for private equity investment in India, in spite of the credit crisis. In the year to date, $2.1bn of deals have been struck, 136 per cent up on the same period last year, says Dealogic.