Monthly Archives: March 2008

Raheja Builders Leader In Residential Real Estate In The West

March 29, 2008 – 2:32 am

Mumbai, 28th March’ 2008: ‘360 Degrees presents 2nd Annual Living Awards 2007’, the biggest ever consumer rated awards in residential real estate, Raheja Builders has been rated as the leading Brand in Residential Real Estate for providing the distinctive experience of an ultimate home in the western India. The awards were presented by Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Mr. Rajiv Shukla, at Tivoli Garden, New Delhi. The awards were based on the largest brand rating survey conducted by AC Nielsen ORG MARG in residential real estate and other allied house related products/services targeting 5,000 respondents in India.

The awards were presented by 360 Degrees in association with Cento International Investments, Tivoli Holiday Village, Supertech Builders and D’Silva Productions. The other brands to win accreditation for their superior performance and setting higher standards in residential real estate – western region were Lokhandwala & Hiranandani in Economy & Luxury segment respectively. The eventful night was enlivened by the scintillating performance of Bollywood divas Aarti Chabbria, Mahima Chaudhry & Sweta Salve.

On the occasion, the other winners were Ansal Group, Merlin Group & Mantri Developers in northern, eastern & southern region of the country. Apart from residential real estate builders the organizers also felicitated the various brands in allied industries.

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New Airport in Hyderabad’s image

March 25, 2008 – 8:09 am

The new airport  going to open in Hyderabad, will enhance the image of the city, attracting more investment in IT, biotechnology.

The swanky RGI airport , which has come up 30 km south of the city, is described as new IT hub which is going to be the home to many software giants. In 1990 the , madhupur village put Hyderabad on the worlds map with a name of hitec city, the new international airport is expected to attract a large business in Hyderabad especially in the area of highway linking Banglore.

The GMR Hyderabad international airport Ltd, the developers of the india’s first greenfield airport in public-private partnership, feels that Hyderabad is well established to become a hub like Dubai and Singapore. So many airlines were waiting to connect to this airport . Oct 27,1990-British Airways launched its flight from Heathrow.

The airport is expected to act as magnet to stimulate new business around it. India’s first chip manufacturing company is coming near to the airport. It is expected to have investment around $7 million in the next decade . Infrastructure is going to be the best in this airport where world class ring roads, elevated expressways and metro rail are expected to be developed to give further impetus to this development.

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Impact Of Share Market On Real Estate in India

March 18, 2008 – 7:00 am

Just fort night back we have seen many Indian promoters figured in the worldwide billionaire list. The Sensex’s climb previous year saw the likes of DLF’s KP Singh coming out of nowhere and becoming the third richest Indian for sometime. And there was much rumour as to when, rather than if, Mukesh and Anil Ambani would eclipse Bill Gates.

However, the recent stock market chaos has resulted in an erosion of net worth of India’s wealthy lot, which is just as spectacular as the rise was. In all, the net worth of India’s top 10 promoters is down by 35 percent since the peak in early January.

Indian biggies including Mukesh Ambani, DLF’s Singh and Sunil Mittal of Bharti Airtel have seen their combined net worth shrink by around $100 billion in the preceding two months.

Topping the list of losers is India’s biggest real estate industrialist KP Singh. His net worth has almost halved to $22.5 billion from a peak of $45 billion in January.

One more real estate baron to lose acutely during this meltdown is R. Chandra of Unitech, whose market cap has halved since this bear phase began. The Hinduja Group too has taken a knock with the market value of its holdings down by nearly 43 percent.

The promoters who have seen maximum wealth erosion are those with business interests in real estate, power and energy.

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Downtrend In Realty Sector

March 18, 2008 – 6:36 am

MUMBAI: When the Indian economy was on an upswing, brokerage and real estate stocks were said to be the darlings of equity bourses.

When the going was good, some also made their debut on stock exchanges and were a big hit with the investing community. Never mind the fact that some of these stocks were commanding a valuation ahead of some of the reputed state-owned banks in the country.

Now, with global economy in turmoil and the decoupling theory now being dismissed as frivolous, financial services and real estate sectors are finding a few takers. Most of the recently listed entities from these sectors have lost more than 35-40% in the recent past.

“While all sectors have taken a hit, brokerage stocks have been singled out for punishment due to the swift run-up after listing,” he adds. On a different note, the land bank story is also not finding favour anymore. Stocks like DLF, Puravankara, Omaxe, IVR Prime, Parsvnath Developers, Orbit Corporation, Unitech and HDIL have been in the doldrums since the start of the current calendar year.

While Omaxe has lost more than 60% in the past two months, IVR Prime has lost around 55%. Parsvnath Developers has also lost around 60% since January 17.

Similarly, DLF, which was gaining ground almost on a daily basis over reports related to the Singapore listing of one of its group firms, has shed almost 50% in the last two months. May be, the scenario can be summed up in Deutsche Bank’s words,“Chasing a land bank is unwarranted”.

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Centre clears 18 FDI proposals

March 16, 2008 – 6:34 pm

NEW DELHI: The Central Government on Friday cleared 18 foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals worth Rs. 1,553.26 crore. This includes Essar Capital’s plans to acquire the status of holding company to make investment in downstream finance and non-banking financial sector and induction of equity shares by Essar Global for Rs. 560 crore. The proposals also include Bharat Connect’s plan to change the status of an operating company into an operating-cum-holding company to make downstream investment in NBFC companies for Rs. 250 crore.

Redington India’s proposal for induction of foreign equity by a holding company in a company by way of acquisition of shares for Rs. 195 crore was also approved by the Government.

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Indian company to develop Sri Lankan condo

March 16, 2008 – 6:25 pm

Mumbai-based property developer Natvar Parikh & Co has signed an agreement with Sri Lanka´s investment promotion agency which will look after the Indian company construct US$13 million, 272-unit luxury condominium development in the island´s inland capital, Colombo.

As par Lanka Business online, Natvar Parikh & Co´s deal with the Sri Lankan Board of Investment (BOI) will indicate a range of tax breaks for the developer. The project is the starting phase of a larger project which on completion will include sixty thousand houses with an investment of US$1 billion and would mean a much-needed jobs, the BOI said

The residential apartment complex is to be built at Rajagiriya, a suburb west of Colombo.
The BOI told in meeting that the first phase of the project will give employment to twenty people, the BOI said in a statement.

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SBI MF to launch Real Estate Equity Fund

March 14, 2008 – 12:33 am

The SBI Mutual Fund filed the offer document with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for launching a dedicated scheme for the real estate and related sector, on 13th march .
The purpose of Magnum Sector Funds Umbrella (MSFU) Real Estate Equity Fund is to offer investors opportunities for long-term growth in capital through an active management of investments in equity and equity-related instruments (including derivatives) of companies in the realty and similar sectors and in debt and money market instruments, the offer document said.
The open-ended scheme would be available in Retail and Institutional Plan with growth and dividend options.
Under the dividend option, facility for reinvestment and payout of dividend is available, it said. Minimum investment under the retail plan is Rs 5,000 while under the institutional plan, it is Rs 5 crore. The performance of the scheme will be benchmarked against a composite benchmark created using BSE Realty Index to the extent of 60 per cent of the portfolio and BSE 100 for the remainder 40 per cent.

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Yoo Pune Project

March 13, 2008 – 7:33 am

The Yoo Pune project will consist of 33 floors with footprint of around 10,000 square feet. The total land area for the project is 21 acres at Hadapsar, next to Magarpatta, and opposite Amanora townships. The four-five bedroom apartments will measure approximately 5,000 square feet and cost around Rs.7.5 crores each. Penthouses too will be available as part of the project. An estimated at Rs.1,500 crores are being invested in this project, making it one of the costliest in India. If you are looking for both a top quality brand and a prime location, Yoo Pune could be your right choice for investment or for living. Read More »

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India DLF may delay REIT IPO

March 13, 2008 – 3:59 am

MUMBAI, March 13  – Indian developer DLF Ltd may delay a planned initial public offering in Singapore of a real estate investment trust and instead opt for a private placement to raise about $500 million, a source said on Thursday. DLF, India’s most valuable property firm, had planned to raise $1.5 billion from the Singapore listing, but the company had changed track because of large falls in global markets since the plan was announced last year.
DLF was now in talks with a clutch of investors and expected to seal a deal by the end of the month, the source said.
“The markets are so unpredictable now, we may wait till they stabilise before doing an IPO,” said the source, who has knowledge of the deal but did not want to be named.
“We are in touch with five or six investors for a placement, which we will probably finalise by month-end,” he said.
Potential investors include Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and DE Shaw, he said, confirming a report in the Economic Times on Thursday, with DLF seeking to raise 20 billion rupees ($500 million) in private placements for the property trust.
DLF also planned to invest $750 million in the trust, owned by a subsidiary, DLF Assets, the paper said, citing unnamed sources.
The company that handles DLF’s media enquiries declined to comment.
DLF had said in February it was still working on the IPO and expected it to be launched in the second quarter of the year, with regulatory approvals expected within a month.
Volatile markets have seen more than $23 billion in global IPO plans postponed or withdrawn, according to Thomson Financial.
India does not yet allow REITs to be floated, but draft guidelines for them were issued in December by the market regulator.

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Green Building At Borivali In Mumbai

March 11, 2008 – 7:28 am

Very first green building complex is all set to come up on a sprawling fifty two thousand square meter plot in Borivali. This project is part of the BMC’s upgradation plans for its Civic Training Institute & Research Centre (CTIRC), which is near to the National Park. Mr. P K Das, consultant of the project, said, “It will have all the standard features of Platinum buildings under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system”. Read More »

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Sobha announces villa project in Banglore

March 10, 2008 – 12:47 am

BANGALORE: Ahead of the opening of Bangalore International Airport at Devanahalli, foremost real estate firm Sobha Developers on Saturday announced the commencement of their biggest single location project, Sobha Lifestyle, in the locality of the airport area. This project is located just 7 km from airpot.

J C Sharma, Managing Director, Shobha Developers Limited (SDL) told reporters that Sobha Lifestyle is also the biggest villa project by the company in the city. The project is spread over fifty five acres with 165 villas measuring 5000, 7000 and 10,000 sq feet

The project cost is expected to be around Rs 250-260 crore and also it is expected that it will be completed by end of 2010, since the land owned by Rennaissance Developers is being jointly developed by Rennaissance and Sobha, he said.

The villas, ranging from price points of Rs 3 to Rs 5.1 crore, would have state-of-the-art club house, gymnasium with sauna and jacuzzi, swimming pool etc. Other amenities include amphitheatre, tennis court, jogging track and CCTV for security.

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Mega Township By Matheran Realty-Coming up For LIG , Near Mumbai.

March 8, 2008 – 1:08 am

Matheran Realty, A known Real estate firm, announced on Friday that it will build an integrated township at Karjat.  The main aim behind this township is to cater for  the need of  the people with low income .

The flats will be of sizes of 3 hundred to 5 hundred sq feet and priced at Rs 999 per sq feet.

Read More »

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Goldman Sachs Invests $2 Billion. in BRIC countries

March 5, 2008 – 1:46 am

The Goldman Sachs investment bank, which has real estate investment worth $23.7 billion worldwide, will commence investing in the Russian real estate market. The bank is in the course of action of forming a $4-billion fund for real estate investments in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). Approximately half of the money will go to Russia and, of that portion, two-thirds will be invested in Moscow.

Read More »

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IBM sees strong growth in India as IT spend grows

March 5, 2008 – 1:43 am

BANGALORE – IBM Corp plans to make better growth in India as part of its strategy to improve focus on promising markets and as local companies spend more on technology to cut costs and improve efficiency, an official said on Tuesday.

Read More »

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IDEB Builds Infrastructure In Major Cities

March 4, 2008 – 4:48 am

The realestate and constructions company IDEB is building infrastructure in all major cities of India. This will include Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mysore, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Kashipur and Delhi. Read More »

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Gulf NRIs Make A Beeline For Lucknow Realty

March 1, 2008 – 1:54 am

Property in Lucknow is very much a sought after option for NRIs in the Gulf. There is a large population base of Lucknow working in Dubai and Middle Eastern countries that are looking for high quality life back in their hometown. A large number of NRIs from Gulf countries are investing in residential property in Lucknow in a big way as an after-retirement option. This was the reason why Lucknow properties were in focus at the Indian Property Show held in Dubai in December 2007. The show generated a huge response from Gulf expatriates for a property in Lucknow. Mr. Kunal Banerjee, president of corporate communications and marketing at Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd, said, “There are a large number of NRIs in Dubai who have shown interest in buying a property in Lucknow”. Its Golf Villa in Sushant Golf City in Lucknow priced at about Rs.25 million is primarily targeted at NRIs and high net worth individuals. Main reason behind their interest is emotional attachment with the native land and future security sought by Gulf NRIs.

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