Monthly Archives: April 2008

Marks And Spencer Confirms Joint Venture With Reliance Retail

Marks & Spencer is to enter into a joint venture aimed at establishing itself as a major retail brand in India.

The JV is with Reliance Retail, part of the Reliance Industries Group.

Marks & Spencer will take a 51% interest in the venture, with Reliance Retail taking the remaining 49%.
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Dlf Starting a new project near Panchkula

Delhi-based DLF group would shortly have its presence felt in the border of Chandigarh as the company is coming up with their DLF Garden City Project near Panchkula for which the company is eyeing two hundred acres. Out of the two hundred acres, the company is said to have acquired thirty four acres with rest being in progress.
Already DLF, one of the foremost real estate developers of India, has its presence in Chandigarh as the company has set up an IT Park spread over an area of 12.4 acres with an investment of around Two hundred forty crore.
The DLF garden city project that is a residential project in an area of thirty four acres and would offer 2, 3 and 4 BHK apartments.
While the 2 BHK would have 1250 sq feet, the 3 BHK areas would vary from 1550 sq feet to 2050 sq feet while the 4 BHK would comprise 2250 sq feet to 2550 sq feet.
An official from the DLF, while verifying the news said that DLF has obtained thirty four acres of land near Panchkula on the National Highway-22 and the project would be rolled out very soon. The said deal has been settled at a whooping amount of Rs 1.14 crores.
According to officials, the DLF is pending license from the Haryana government, which will come by this month end after which the work for the township would recommence.
Apart from the residential apartments the integrated township would have exceptional features like Club House, Schools, which could be in collaboration with Vijay International School and Educom and a hospital to be set up by Fortis or Wockhardt.
Meanwhile, unofficial news revealed that DLF was eyeing nearly four hundred acres at Mullanpur near Mohalli area.The investment in this project is again estimated to be over one crore. According to officials instead of the integrated township the DLF has proposed to create a plotted township in this area.

Delhi Metro Impact On Real Estate

This led to the expansion of the Delhi Mass speedy Transit System, or Delhi Metro as it is known. The success of this transport network that began procedure in December 2002 now sees it as not only the public transportation of choice, but the model itself has become the standard for the development of other systems across India. And yet the current metro system, known as Phase I, is itself set to grow with another three phases, scheduled for completion in 2010, 2015 and 2020. By the time Phase IV is operational, the Delhi Metro will have found its place ahead of the London system as the biggest public rail network in the world.
It is easy to see why these four phases of the transportation network, together with the northern and southeastern suburb developments included in the Delhi Metro Masterplan 2021 have impacted and will continue to impact the real estate industry of the area.
Connectivity and traveling within the city and in the NCR areas of Gurgaon and Noida will become a piece of a cake and the economic results are being sensed already. For example, the onset of the Metro has boosted the land prices and apartments built by Unitech ltd. And Dlf, one of the foremost private building companies which own huge tracks of land in Gurgaon.
The incredible pace that the growth rate of the area has been exhibiting is having a beneficial economic effect, especially where the real estate market is concerned. It is also having a very positive effect on the entire job market, as the unemployment rate continues to drop in the major industries of the automotive, health care, and technology sectors.

High Price of real estate forcing BPO to shift in smaller city

The rush in real estate prices and a talent crisis in metros are forcing the $11 billion Indian BPO industry to shift to Tier II cities in the country, according to a study conducted by consultancy firm Everest Group.
“It is difficult to maintain the growth in Tier I cities because of the increasing real estate prices and talent crunch. There is no choice but to move to Tier II cities,” Everest Group’s Country Head (India) Gaurav Gupta said.
As of now, BPO industry is concentrated in seven cities namely Bangalore, NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
“Movement to lower-cost cities within India is likely to result in additional 15-30 per cent reduction in operating cost despite lower employability and higher management costs,” Head of Global Services at Everest Research Institute, Nikhil Rajpal, said.
Everest Group is a global consulting firm specialising in sourcing and offshoring advisory services. The study ranks several Tier II and Tier III cities on their potential to become BPO hubs for various domains in the future.
For finance and accounting services, Ahmadabad, Nagpur, Jaipur, Indore and Nasik emerge as ideal cities to host BPO firms. Similarly, Nagpur, Vishakhapatnam, Ahmadabad, Coimbatore and Mundra are ideal to have BPO operations in logistics domain.

Citi realty arm to buy 10% stake in Golden Gate for Rs 400cr

Citigroup’s real estate arm is set to invest around Rs 400 crore in Bangalore-headquartered Golden Gate Properties for about 10% stake.

The deal is expected to value the tier-II real estate firm at a little over $1 billion. This marks Citigroup’s back-to-back deals in the domestic real estate space in the last fortnight. Early last week, the global financial giant unveiled $160 million play in Delhi-based BPTP. Read More »

Real estate major ventures into hospitality with Ramada tie-up

Pune-based promoter and developer, the Amrut Runwal Group, is all set to venture into the hospitality industry. The group will begin with a five star property in Pune, which is scheduled to open by June 2009.

“In order to diversify business operations, the Amrut Runwal Group decided to enter the hospitality industry. Since Pune is an upcoming IT hub, the demand for hotels is increasing. Hence we started our hospitality business in this city,” says Ankush Parakh, Vice President, Amrut Runwal Group. The Ramada, the brand owned by Wyndham Hotel Group will be franchisor for the property. Amrut Runwal group plans to have four five star properties in India (which includes the Pune property) by 2013. The company is in talks with various hoteliers for management contracts. The group plans to raise funding for this property through private equity.

Salarpuria Plans Hotel In Rajarhat

Kolkata-based real estate developer Salarpuria Group will execute projects worth Rs 1,000 crore in West Bengal by 2010.

Mr. Rakesh Salarpuria, vice chairman of the Salarpuria Group, said that the expansion plans includes setting up a Novotel Hotel, promoted by international hospitality major, Accor Group, at Rajarhat. The investment in the project would be close to Rs 200 crore.

Other major investments of the company includes two IT special economic zones (SEZs) at Bantala 20km south-east of Kolkata, and Kalyani in Nadia district, 40km north-west of Kolkata. Read More »

Stagnant prices hit Kolkata Real Estate

After last year’s buoyant market, signs of sluggishness have set in the Kolkata real estate market, particularly in the residential segment.

While property prices in prime locations continue to witness an upward trend, they have stagnated to last year’s level in upcoming suburbs in absence of investments.

For instance, in the Rajarhat, the residential and industrial hub in the north-eastern fringes of Kolkata, and Sector V, the IT hub areas, prices have stagnated between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000 for almost a year now, even though construction cost has risen about 25 % in the last six months.

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Industrial Rent Gets Double In Mumbai

Mumbai’s industrial property rents almost doubled last year, rising at the fastest pace in the world.

According to an international report, annual industrial rents in India’s financial capital surged to nearly 80 euros (127 dollar) a square meter.

Global average rents rose by more than 6 %, outpacing the 4.5 % increase in 2006, with Asia showing the biggest gains, boosted by economic growth in India and China.

Century 21 To Set Up 1,000 Offices All Over India

NEW DELHI: Global realty brokerage firm, Century 21 Real Estate LLC, announced on Monday about its foray into the Indian market with plans to open offices across the country, where it is expecting for a business of Rs one thousand crores in half a decade.

The US-based company plans to open one thousand offices through franchisee route. It would also have its own offices at fifty locations in the country to manage the entire operations.

Mr. Ajay Rathore, Century 21 India Country Head, said, “In the next five years, we plan to have 1,000 offices at pan-India level. We expect Rs 1 thousand crore revenue after these sub-franchisees get fully functional”. He told that the company would first start with the metros and the Tier I cities, followed by Tier II and III cities. Read More »

Vijay Shanthi Builders Ready To Enter Into Emerging Cities

Vijay Shanthi Builders, a Chennai-based Housing Promoters, would enter emerging real estate cities with their premium products and building solutions.

Mr. Suresh Jain, Managing Director, VSBL, said that the company would be launching construction of premium grade villas at Salem in Tamil Nadu. Further he added that almost 100 villas will be spread across 20 acres of land and price of each unit will be between Rs 75 lakh and Rs 85 lakhs. Each villa will be comprising 3000 square feet . Read More »

Indian REITs To Reach 5% By 2010

At the present expected rate of growth, Indian real estate investment trusts could account for five percent of the universal real estate market by 2010. According to an study by Indian REIT industry group Assocham and credit rating agency CRISIL, the global RE market is likely to increase to $1.4 trillion by then, with Indian REITs accounting for $70 of the total. Assocham President Venugopal Dhoot notes that in India, only venture capital funds are currently allowed to offer RE funds, led by HDFC, Prudential ICICI, Kotak Mahindra and IL&FS. The universal REIT market is represented by four hundred nity one trusts in nineteen countries, with the U.S. home to 53.2 percent of the total assets, with Australia a distant second at 12 percent with $285 billion after increasing last year by 29 percent.

Toyota To Invest $350 MN For 2nd Plant In India

Japanese auto major Toyota Motor Corp will invest USD 350 million (about Rs 1,400 crore) for setting up a second plant in India as part of its plans to introduce a ‘strategic’ small car in the country by 2010.

Ending months of speculation over the second plant, Toyota, which runs the Indian operations through a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group, has decided to set up the new plant at its existing location in Karnataka.

Mr. K K Swamy, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) deputy managing director, said, “We have decided to build the second in Bangalore at the site of the existing facility with an investment of USD 350 million”.

Further he said that the new plant will have a production capacity of 1,00,000 units and will become operational by 2010. The company’s current plant has a capacity of 63,000 units a year.

TKM has been scouting for a location for months and finally zeroed in on the existing location to drive synergies with the existing operations.

He further added”From this plant, we will roll out a strategic new small car which is currently under development at our Japan R&D facility. The small will meet the broad needs of the Indian customers”.

The new small car, which will have high localization level, is primarily aimed at the Indian market although some of it will be exported.

Toyota had in the past declared that it would capture 10 percent of the Indian car market by 2010 and the new car is expected to play a key role in it.

Asked about the pricing and positioning of the small car, he said it would not be at the ‘Nano’ range nor it would be too expensive.

Kozhikode gets a makeover to accommodate IT

Kozhikode in north kerala is creating boom in the city. Approx forty builders are focusing on the kozhikode real estate market.
Information technology sectors coming into kozhikode has made it in demand for both residential and commercial activity. There is also a demand for quality living. That is why the demand for mall space is increasing day by day here.
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K Raheja enter in logistics business

MUMBAI: K Raheja Corp, a top real estate company, has entered into a fifty fifty joint venture with Colorado-based ProLogis, a leading owner, manager and developer of distribution facilities globally. The joint venture is for warehousing and logistic infrastructure development in India and is ProLogis’ first business in the country.

According to the agreement, the joint venture will obtain land, develop the property and manage the assets and will firstly focus on protecting development chances in cities together with Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Pune. The joint venture will invest around two thousand three hundred crore for three years.

To start with, the joint venture has obtained twenty seven acres in Loni near Pune. The joint venture is expected to develop 7.5 million square feet in the subsequenty three years and a total of twenty million square feet for the next five years.

The K Raheja Group is also into retail and hospitality sections in addition its centeral business of realty. The group possesses some of the country’s important retail brands such as Shopper’s Stop, Inorbit Mall, HyperCity and Crossword.

Oman firm ties up with India Inc for Real Estate Development

W J Towell, A leading Oman business group, has announced the formation of joint ventures with three Indian firms for real estate development in the Sultanate.

The Indian companies are Piramal Group, Simplex Infrastructure Ltd and Talati & Panthaky Associated Pvt Ltd.

Mr. Imad Sultan, Director in-charge of Indian ventures of W J Towell, said,”The association with these companies will bring a new level of interest and expertise to the fore in all constructions and real estate activities”.

Read More »

Greater Noida Land Rates Hiked

The Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority board hiked the minimum rates for all categories of land, in an important decision taken on Tuesday evening.

Residential allotment rates, for instance, have been raised from Rs 5,900 per square meter to Rs 10,500 per square meter.

Read More »

Citi arm takes 40% in BPTP

New Delhi :- Property investment division of Citibank has invested one hundred sixty million dollar in real estate major BPTP. earlier Citibank Property Investment (CPI) had invested eighty million dollar in the company to take 5.89 per cent stake. The hottest investment will be made in a special purpose vehicle (SPV) of BPTP, which is executingfour SEZs in the national capital region. According to a source, CPI will acquire 40% stake in the SPV.

The SPV is applying IT specific SEZs at Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad and Gurgaon. The Noida SEZ is being developed on 25 acre of land, Greater Noida on 100 acre, Faridabad on 54 acre and Gurgaon on 27 acre of land. In the first phase, the company will develop six million square feet in the four SEZs by 2010. The total area to be developed in the four SEZs is 20 million square feet.

All four SEZs have got the approval of the government and land has been acquired. The money raised by the SPV will fund the project.

The government rejected to extend the tax benefit for software technology parks after March 31, 2009, IT SEZs have become popular amongst the export oriented units. The developer of SEZ will get tax concessions not only on profit, but also on all inputs required for the project.

The deal reveals that the real estate tale in the country is still shining and the investors are prepared to put money, provided the project is at the implementation stage, said a banker. He said if India maintains an eight per cent growth, it will require enormous real estate supply.

Indian REITs To Reach 5 Percent By 2010

At the current projected rate of growth, Indian real estate investment trust (REIT) could account for 5% of the global real estate market by 2010. According to an analysis by Indian REIT industry group Assocham and credit rating agency CRISIL, the global RE market is likely to increase to $1.4 trillion by then, with Indian REITs accounting for $70 of the total. Assocham President Venugopal Dhoot notes that in India, only venture capital funds are currently permitted to offer RE funds, led by HDFC, Prudential ICICI, Kotak Mahindra and IL&FS. The global REIT market is represented by 491 trusts in 19 countries, with the U.S. home to 53.2% of the total assets, with Australia a distant second at 12% with $285 billion after increasing last year by 29%.

BCCL Picks Up Stake In Mantri Realty

Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd (BCCL) has picked up Rs 60 crore worth preference shares in Mumbai-headquartered real estate major Mantri Realty Limited, which has operations in both Mumbai and Bangalore. Mantri Realty is an associate concern of Mantri Enterprises. The company, which has so far completed over 35 residential and commercial projects with over 3 million square feet built up area across 15 cities, has a land bank of more than 1,400 acre. Mantri Realty will use these funds for developing new projects. Read More »

Saffron Asset launches $500 million real estate fund

MUMBAI, April 4 – Fund manager Saffron Asset Advisors is raising a maximum of five hundred million dollar through an India- focused real estate fund, and has agreed for Standard Life as anchor investor, a top official said on Friday.
Saffron’s Managing Director A. V. Kapoor stated that Standard Life will invest seventy five million dollar in the eight-year fund, which will invest in projects from corner to corner of India.
He imagines that Saffron India Real Estate Fund-I to complete fund raising by the second quarter of this financial year.
Saffron has already lined up some projects for investment through the new fund, and will be pronouncing these very soon.
Saffron previously raised two hundred twenty million euros through its Euronext-listed Yatra Capital for investing in the Indian real estate market.
Foreign investors have raised investments in India’s real estate market in the preceding few years, attracted by the gradual maturing of the industry and surging property prices, which have risen for five straight years.

Buy a home abroad, get a jet free

One can get a BMW or a private jet, a multiple entry visas or a free ticket to fly down as an incentive for buying a home or investing in property  abroad. The Luckiest person can get a permanent residency or citizenship too. Read More »

Real Estate Mutual Fund

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said it would issue guidelines on real estate mutual funds in the subsequent fifteen days.

“SEBI is ready with guidelines on real estate mutual funds that could be issued any day. The outer time limit to issue guidelines is fifteen days. This would enable retail investors to access the realty market which has witnessed a boom in the last few years,” T C Nair, whole time member, Sebi said at a conference on real estate mutual funds, organised by industry body Assocham.

Further Nair said that legal matters together with accounting and valuation have been resolved and rules could be issued anytime.

Yatra May Buy Kuoni’s Unit

Kuoni, India’s prime travel services provider, is selling its corporate travel arm to Yatra online. Gurgaon based Yatra online is an arm of the Anil Dhirubhi Ambani Group. If the deal goes through, this will be Kuoni’s second outing with ADAG. In 2006, Kuoni had sold its foreign exchange money-changing unit, Travelmate Services to ADAG’s Reliance Capital, which is now one of Yatra’s promoters.

Mr. Dhruv Shringi, co-founder & CEO of Yatra Online, has not said anything on this issue. Even Niren Shah, MD of Norwest Partners, offered no comment. Norwest Partners, a global venture capital firm, is another promoter of Yatra Online.

Premier Indian Hotel Company Expands Business Abroad

Indian hotel companies are showing their interest in spreading their business to abroad. Taj Hotel Resorts and Palaces plans to establish one of its world class hotel or resort in either Palawan (Island) or Makati.

Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces chain is more than a century old. It comprises of fifty-seven hotels in forty locations across India and eighteen international hotels in abroad. Mainly in Maldives, Mauritius, Malaysia, Australia, the United Kingdom, USA, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Africa, and the Middle East. Taj has also won international acclaim for its quality hotels and its excellence in dining, business facilities, interiors, and world-class personalized service. Read More »