Monthly Archives: April 2012

What Housing? India’s Realty Sector Data is an Opaque House

The Other day, I was reading a blog entry about housing prices and interest rates on the website of The Economist magazine. The data on which the blog was based included a long (20+ years) history of housing prices in the UK and the US. In the US, for example, the house price index with a base of 100 in 1988 had risen to a peak of about 320 in 2006 and is now down to about 220. In the UK, a similar index started at 100 in 1995, hit about 370 in 2007 but is down only to 320 yet. The post went on to examine why US housing prices have crashed so much more than the UK.
In India, no matter how much you want to, you cannot do any analysis like this because the data does not exist. Despite the centrality of real estate prices in the economy, as well as in the lives of people, these are an almost completely opaque part of the Indian economy. This is all the more galling because with financial savings less developed than the western countries, real estate (along with gold) is a much bigger part of people’s savings.

Whether you are a researcher who needs a couple of decades worth of broad data, or an individual who needs a price map of a particular kind of unit across an area, you are pretty much on your own. This lack of quality information has huge consequences. In any kind of exchange, it skews the advantage towards the larger and more organised side. As an individual, whether you are buying or selling, you’ll start with a scramble for information and will eventually have to make do with whatever is handed to you by people who are on the opposite side.

While the broader picture might eventually become clearer when the National Housing Bank’s Residex index builds up a long enough history, individuals will probably be faced with an information disadvantage unless someone has some ideas about filling this gap.

DLF gains much after Goldman Sachs upgrade

Reuters Market Eye – India’s biggest real estate developer DLF (DLF.NS) rose 3.2 percent to 188.10 rupees after Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating on the stock to “buy” from “neutral” and raised its 12-month target price to 264 rupees from 252 rupees.

Goldman cited a pickup in residential launches, a recovery in commercial property, easing interest rates, and improved outlooks for asset sales as well as for operating/financial leverage as reasons for upgrade.

DLF’s share price is down 0.5 percent for 2012 while the BSE Sensex is up about 11 percent in the same period.

The upgrade has come close on the heels of DLF’s removal from the Sensex, which will come into effect from June 11.

India’s ICICI Bank eyes growth

ICICI Bank, India’s No. 2 lender, posted on Friday a larger-than-expected 31 percent rise in quarterly profit and forecast a higher growth rate for domestic loans and stable asset quality for the coming year. Loan demand in India is expected to pick up after the central bank last week cut its benchmark lending rate for the first time in three years to help revive sagging economic growth.

The Reserve Bank of India has projected loan growth for Indian banks for fiscal year 2013 at 17 percent against 16 percent in the previous year. ICICI expects its domestic loans to grow 20 percent in the year that began in April from 17 percent last year, driven by demand from companies for working capital, home and car loans, Chief Executive Chanda Kochhar told reporters.

“These numbers may give us comfort to keep what we have (but) we don’t have any particular plans to increase our stakes. We have concerns about the India story in general,” said Olsson Jan-Olov, portfolio manager of Carnegie Emerging Markets at Sweden, which owns ICICI shares.

“We have been a little hesitant towards increasing positions in India due to the overriding political and macro-economic situation.”

Earlier this week, Standard & Poor’s cut India’s credit rating outlook to negative from stable on hefty fiscal and current account deficits and political paralysis in Asia’s third-largest economy. The negative outlook jeopardises India’s long-term rating of BBB-, the lowest investment grade rating. Indian banks are actively easing terms on loans for companies, as high interest rates and an economic slowdown has hurt the ability of some to repay loans on time. Power, textile, aviation, construction and real estate are the hardest hit sectors.

ICICI, which is also listed in New York and competes with State Bank of India and HDFC Bank, sees a “very small” and “minimal” pipeline for corporate debt restructurings, Kochhar said.

Commercial Realty Sector in Mumbai Offers Big Opportunities

The number of high net worth investors (HNIs) and corporates seriously looking to invest in Indian office space has increased manifold in the last few years. Mumbai continues as India’s numerous office space investment destination, with companies from all over the world unerringly zeroing in on the financial capital.

As South Asia’s only true financial hub, Mumbai is among India’s best places to invest in commercial real estate. In times of global economic uncertainty, investors flock to markets that have consistently proved their long-term stability and fundamentals.

In a scenario wherein institutional investors are showing reduced preference for commercial real estate in their portfolios, Mumbai continues to present HNI and corporate investors with myriad growth opportunities in office properties. However, the multitude of options also gives many enthusiastic investors heartburn -where on Mumbai’s vast and complex map are the low-risk/high returns locations?

Today, Mumbai as a city for commercial space investment reveals a high rate of vacancies in many locations. The rental yields in these micro-locations are expected to decrease marginally over the next 12 months.

While this seems to present a depressing scenario on the surface, the fact is that we are now looking at the bottom of the curve. In other words, these markets are expected to bottom out over the next one year and will consequently start to move up again. These locations have significant long-term capital value appreciation potential, and well-informed investors are keeping a close eye on them.

Property prices hiked in Coimbatore

The jump in land, materials and labour costs has pushed property prices up by 25%-30% per cent and slowed the growth of the real estate sector in Coimbatore in the last two years. Property developers in the city believe that if the real estate sector has to grow at pace similar to that of Chennai, which despite the global economic slowdown, registered a steady growth quarter after quarter, as per the residential price index brought out by the National Housing Bank, the government has to develop infrastructure facilities, promote industries and improve water bodies.

“There is not much space left for property developers inside the city. All construction activities are moving towards the suburbs,” said V Subramanian, president, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI), Coimbatore. However, land prices have increased in the outskirts in the past two years. The cost of material and labour is also on the rise. This has seriously affected the middle income group, which is the major segment that invests money to buy property. Property developers have been forced to pass the cost increase burden on the people, which have slowed down the market.

“Land costs have increased four-fold in Coimbatore, which is causing major problems for developers,” Subramanian said. Cement, which was costing Rs 190 a bag a year ago, is now available for Rs 300. Steel prices have increased from Rs 38000 per tonne to Rs 60000 per tonne now. Developers are struggling to control their costs and boost sales. Omkar Sankar, director, Sankar Foundation, said there is huge demand for affordable and low-budget houses in Coimbatore. But the jump in prices of affordable houses is now becoming a cause for concern, he noted.

Flats that were sold for Rs 4500 per sq. ft. in Ramnagar area are now being sold for Rs 6500 per sq. ft. Similarly, in areas like Vilankurichi, Thondamuthur, Vadavalli, which are outside the city, costs have moved from Rs 2300 per sq. ft. to Rs 3500 and more. Though the recent lowering of interest rate by banks may bring some respite, developers are still in a wait and watch mode. The situation in Coimbatore is different from Chennai, which is well connected with infrastructure facilities even in far-off areas.

There is a huge demand for housing in Coimbatore and in the next few years there would be at least a demand for 1 lakh housing units, said P Karthikeyan, Chief Executive Officer, Trishul Shelters Private Limited. However this would require good connectivity and infrastructure development in the suburban areas, which is lacking now, he said. Besides the developers have to look at ways to keep costs down by adopting innovative methods and different technologies, he noted.

Indian Real Estate Market: One of the Most Lucrative Sectors for NRIs

Indian real estate market is one of the most lucrative sectors for Non-Resident Indians to invest their foreign money. Moreover, this trend will continue for more 4-5 years as the consumption story of Indian real Estate market is not going to get over in near future leading to immense commercial growth prospects that in turn increase the demand for real estate. Although Indian Realty market is facing downfall, it is not correct to say that all cities are experiencing the same situation. It has been observed that some of the cities in India always have good chances of investment and these cities even in worst circumstances would be able to provide good investment returns. One more factor that attracts NRI’s to invest in India is the bigger geographical area. Unfortunately, NRI’s put their money into property prevailing in big cities and metros, but they should be informed appropriately about the outskirts of the big cities and even about the tier-2 cities that offer a great deal of real estate investment in present scenario.
Not only this, but the recent significant depreciation in the value of rupees in respect of dollar/pound/euro has given a profitable chance to the NRI’s to clandestine their foreign earned money into some good  investment plans. However, quite a few times NRI investors face some issues with liaison services in real estate industry, but once these intermediary services will improve more and more foreign investors would be lured to purchase property in India in lieu of high returns.
Foreign investment is also a good sign of growth for Indian Real Estate market as well. In this current state of affairs when the Indian Realty market is experiencing a huge downfall, the foreign investors seem to be the ray of hope. With more and more NRI’s investing in small and even big commercial properties in India, the Real estate market will soon see a huge intensification. It has been observed from past trends that around 70% of foreign investment has been done in residential sector, but according to the Indian developers there are various commercial investment opportunities also existing for the foreign investors who wish to set up a business in India.
However, it has been told by the real estate experts that present time when foreign currency is in appreciation, it is the encouraging time for NRI’s to make some good investment in realty market in India. Office plots, residential spaces and even apartments are easily available for NRI’s.
Indian property developers also have a notion that the downfall of realty market in India is the result of the global meltdown and depreciation of rupee. Their belief is not vague, but they also consider that ambiguities in western economies led to the build-up confidence of NRI’s into Indian market and they are keen on purchasing property here. Their investment is a huge support for Indian Realty market and soon with the rupee appreciation these investments will strengthen the economic situation as well.

Indian Realty Market: HongKong and Shanghai Hotels to enter

The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Ltd that operates luxury hotels under ‘Peninsula’ brand today said it is in talks with international parties for partnership to enter the Indian market. “We have looked at several properties and held discussions in India to have a presence in the country,” Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Ltd Director and Chief Operating Officer Peter C Borer told said.

The company is scouting for assets in India to start operations in Delhi and Mumbai. Unlike other international chains, it will look to invest in properties as owners with a majority stake.
Senior company officials have been visiting India for the last four to five years to scout for potential partners, he said but did not disclose the parties with which the company has been having discussions.

When asked why the company has not made progress so far, he said: “We are looking for the right partnership for long term and we want to go slow and steady in the market.”
Borer, however, did not comment on the timeline for opening its first property in India as well as possible investments to be made in the country.

Commenting on the company’s business model, he said: “Our philosophy worldwide is to invest in property and manage rather than only managing it.” The Hong Kong-based hospitality chain currently operates nine hotels in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok, Manila, New York, Chicago and California with an average room of about 200-300 per property. These properties are positioned as business as well as leisure destinations.

The company is currently developing its 10th property in Paris and is likely to be operational by 2013. When asked about room tariff of the chain, Borer said it varies from location to location but ranges between USD 150 to USD 900 per room per night. The average occupancy level across the chain is about up to 75 per cent.

Commenting on the Indian market, The Peninsula Shanghai General Manager Joseph W Y Chong said: “We are still learning about the real estate situation in India. We will not compromise on lower or cheaper substitutes and ideally we will go for a location which is culturally connected and centrally located.”

Paracor Capital: Invests $20Mn in Hallmark Infrastructure

Paracor Capital has invested $20Mn in two residential projects of Chennai-based real estate developer Hallmark Infrastructure. Both these projects are located opposite Mahindra World City on GST Road in New Chennai, and involve a development of 0.8 mn sq ft.

Hallmark Infrastructure was established in 1998 and it became Hallmark Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd in 2005. It is a diversified group based in Chennai with presence in infrastructure projects, IT parks, townships, hospitality and serviced apartments.

Paracor Capital Advisors is the Indian advisor to two Mauritius based investment companies – Paracor India Investments Limited, Mauritius, which focuses on private equity transactions and Madison India Real Estate Fund Limited, Mauritius which focuses on real estate and hospitality investments.

This is Paracor’s fifth Indian real estate investment. Last year, it invested R55Cr for an 8% stake in Marvel Landmarks Pvt. Ltd, a realty firm backed by global asset managers Och-Ziff Capital Management Group. Other real estate investments include Arun Excello Homes, Daman Hospitality and Sabari Inn.

This space has seen 12 investments amounting to $477Mn across 10 deals with disclosed values during the March quarter. The largest PE-realty investment announced during the first quarter of this year was GIC’s $100Mn investment in a Godrej Properties office project in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex-the only deal over $25Mn reported during the period.

Other deals in the sector include ASK Property Advisors R40Cr investment in Paranjape Schemes’ residential project in Pune and Future Capital’s investment in Rustomjee Group’s project.

Economy and Realty: Glance for the Month of April 2012

Healthy office space absorption in 2011-2012 inspite of slowdown in GDP, However 2012-13 seems bleak.

Currently, the top seven cities of India that is Mumbai, National Capital Region, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata together occupy 389 mn sq.ft of Grade-A office space. During 2010-11, a total of 38 mn sq.ft of new space was constructed in the top seven cities and it was 37 mn sq. ft during 2011-12. Office space absorption in India during 2011-12 was merely 2% lower than 2010-11 despite GDP growth slowing down from 8.4% to 6.9% during the same period. This is in sharp contrast to the popular belief that 2011-12 was a dull year for office market in terms of absorption. Healthy absorption rate ensured a drop in vacancy level to 21% by the end of Q4 2011-12 from 27% in Q4 2009-10.

Share of Banking & IT sector falls in absorption while manufacturing sector has witnessed an increasing trend over the last two years and contributed 19% in total absorption during 2011-12, higher from 13% in 2010-11. GDP growth of service segment is estimated to grow at 8.8% during 2012-13, much higher than industry segment growth of 6%. Absorption of space during 2012-13 is expected to be considerably lower than the previous two years and this will make it all the more challenging for developers to maintain existing levels of rent.

However, the latest move by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) of reducing the repo and reverse repo rate by 50 basis points (bps) each could provide the much needed impetus to the economy and help in reviewing the demand scenario for office space in the coming quarters.

2012: Much Tougher Year for Fund Raising

Due to global issues, liquidity is becoming a problem. Though the phase is temporarily, the concern cannot be ruled out. Indian real estate sector is banking on the fact that change will take place and market will come out of the situation. The fact of the matter is that next 12 months and in fact 2012, does not look too bright for the sector.

The global debt worries have led to more and more uncertainty. In the last few months, the sector has been plagued by a potential liquidity squeeze. The situation is very unsettling and the fear is that we might end up looking at the year 2008 situation. It is certain that banks will get into selective lending with more strict verifications. In 2012, we are expecting that interest rates might get stabilized but disbursal of home loans will come down.

As RBI has been steadily increasing interest rates, debt for developers is becoming expensive. Also many banks are right now not keen to lend to real estate projects. Due to global uncertainty even private equity is cautious of investing in India. In fact, companies have started looking at alternative routes of fund raising. And many a deals are being done as structured debt deals hiding behind the facade of an equity structure.

In structured debt deals, the companies—investor and investee—sign two agreements. In the publicly announced agreement the investor—a PE or a VC fund—buys an equity stake in the company; and in the second contract they have buyback clause, which allows investee company to buy back its shares from the PE/VC fund at a price that will give the fund a return of about 20% per annum over the duration of the investment.

All signs currently suggest that 2012 would not be an easy year. As debt becomes more expensive and PE funds find it difficult to deploy cash due to global economic conditions, we would see higher number of structured deals taking place in 2012. Though these structured deals are being done, they have their share of problems. The problem is when the side-contracts are not honoured.

Realty Industry Welcomes Rate Cut

The interest rate sensitive realty industry Tuesday welcomed the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to cut key lending rates by 50 basis points, and felt the move will boost builders’ and home loan customers’ sentiments alike.

“For the real estate in particular, this is indeed a welcome step by RBI. While the sector was already reeling under the pressures of high interest rates, this will allow banks to lower down the interest rates significantly. Both buyers and developers shall get benefitted from this,” said Pradeep Jain, chairman, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI).

Home loan buyers are currently paying a higher rate of interest in the range of 11.50-13 percent on floating basis. Customers, who had earlier opted for dual rate scheme and now just exhausted their fixed tenure rate, are paying the same rate of interest.

Other industry players like Unitech and real estate consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield also welcomed the move, which they said would boost business confidence.

“This development will have a positive impact across the economy and particularly in the real-estate industry. Not only will the cost of borrowing rationalize, this reduction will also provide an impetus to growth and enhance business-confidence,” said Ajay Chandra, managing director, Unitech.

Cushman & Wakefield India said that the banks are expected to pass on the reduction in interest rates to consumers, which will provide a positive boost to market sentiments especially in the residential sales markets.

“We expect to witness some pickup in the volume of sales transactions. For the whole of last year, end buyers had to defer their purchase decisions as they were facing the double-edged sword of rising interest rates and stubborn price levels,” said Anurag Mathur, managing director, Cushman & Wakefield.

The RBI’s announcement also buoyed the BSE Realty index which grew by 32.50 points at 1,813.97 points around 2:50 p.m. Stocks of realty industry players also surged with DLF’s scrip growing by 3.75 points or 1.88 percent at 203.25 points.

 

 

Indian Hotels Seek Bigger Stake in Orient-Express.

Indian Hotels Co. (IH), the country’s biggest hotel operator, has restarted efforts to boost its stake in Orient-Express (OEH) Hotels Ltd., two people with knowledge of the matter said.

The Mumbai-based company has approached Orient-Express about a deal, though discussions are at an early stage and may fail to lead to an agreement, the people said, declining to be identified as deliberations are private. Indian Hotels owns 6.9 percent of Hamilton, Bermuda-based Orient-Express, whose market value has jumped 32 percent this year to $1.2 billion.

Indian Hotels, owner of the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai, initially paid $211.3 million for a 10 percent stake in Orient- Express in 2007. Two years later, Indian Hotels said it would be “happy” to boost its investment, though added it doesn’t make “hostile moves.” Orient-Express had in September 2007 rejected an approach to pursue strategic discussions from Indian Hotels.

Indian Hotels’ stake in Orient-Express was diluted since the 2007 investment, as the New York-listed company completed four stock sales, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It wasn’t clear how much of Orient-Express Indian Hotels is seeking.

Paul White, the former Orient-Express chief executive officer who rejected Indian Hotels’ approach, resigned from the company’s board in July. Orient Express owns New York’s 21 Club restaurants and the Hotel Cipriani in Venice, Italy.

Indian Hotels in an e-mailed statement declined to comment “on market speculation.” Victoria Legg, a spokeswoman for Orient-Express in London, declined to comment.

Indian Hotels, controlled by the Tata Group, bought the Ritz-Carlton in Boston in 2007 for $170 million from Millennium Partners and renamed it Taj Boston. In 2005, the company re- entered the New York market after six years with the rights to manage the 201-room Pierre.

The Mumbai-based company has 112 hotels and plans to open 12 new resorts this year, according to a December investor presentation. Sahara Group, the Indian owner of assets ranging from TV channels to real estate, bought the Grosvenor House in London’s Mayfair district for 470 million pounds ($744 million) that month in its first overseas hotel acquisition.

 

Unity Infraprojects: Realty projects and roads focus to help build-up.

Healthy order book, strong balance sheet and the potential to unlock value from real estate projects make Unity Infraprojects a decent investment idea on a medium-term basis. Mumbai-based Unity Infraprojects is a small-sized construction firm operating in buildings, water and roads segments. The company is also developing real estate on its land parcels in Nagpur, Bangalore, Pune, Kolkata and Goa. The total saleable area from these projects is nearly nine million square feet.

Unity Infraprojects stands to gain by unlocking the value in its real estate projects. It was not able to monetise any of its real estate projects due to delays in execution by over a year. However, it is now in an advanced stage of securing approvals for launching its Bangalore residential project. Unity has a total saleable area of nearly 3 million square feet in this project, which it intends to launch in another three months.

After this it will focus on monetising its real estate in other cities. The current order book of the company in its construction business stands at Rs 4,700 crore, which are 2.75 times its FY11 revenues. These orders are to be executed over the next three years. The company has been increasing its exposure to the roads segment in the last few years. Although the roads segment is highly competitive, Unity’s backward integration in terms of owns machinery has allowed the company to garner better operating margins than its peers.

In the nine months ending December 2011, the company has maintained an operating margin of 15.5%. Another factor that augurs well for the company is its strong balance sheet. As of September 2011, the company had a debt-equity ratio of 1.1, which is one of the best among its peers. Unity Infraprojects’ stock is trading at a P/E of 3.9 while similar-sized rivals like Pratibha Industries and Supreme Infrastructure India are trading at a P/E of 5.9 and 5.2, respectively. Considering its growth potential and the relative discount to its peers, the stock looks attractive at this level.

Understand Capital Gains Tax for the Sold Property.

Real estate is a significant part of an investor’s pie. It is also a time tested asset, which almost always appreciates except in times of severe economic downtrends, when it’s temporarily affected. In fact, buying real estate for investment purposes and selling it later at a higher price has become very common among investors. Banks and other financial institutions (NBFCs or non-banking financial institutions) have also helped in this trend by providing easy loans to investors.

 

What is confusing for many investors though is the tax structure on these real estate transactions. This article will explore the tax liability on such transactions, also known as capital gain (or loss depending on whether the investor made money on the transaction).

 

Capital Gain Tax Structure.

 

The income tax rules define gain in two broad categories; namely short term capital gain (STCG) and long term capital gain (LTCG). If investors buy and sell assets within 3 years, this comes under short term capital gain. If investors buy real estate, keep it for more than 3 years and sell, it comes under long term capital gain.

For short term capital gain, the gain from asset is added to the investor’s income and taxed as per the income slab they fall under. For example, if an investor falls under the tax slab of 30%, the gain will also be taxed at the rate of 30%.

 

For long term capital gain, tax calculation involves what is known as indexation. The acquisition cost or cost of acquiring the asset is recalculated based on indexation. Indexation is a concept, which factors inflation in its calculation by using a factor called cost inflation index (CII). The cost inflation index number is published every year by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and people can use it to find out the taxable gain on the transaction.

Bangalore: Just about Office….Office.

While demand for residential space was mostly sluggish in 2011, demand for office and retail space remained healthy in Bangalore.

The market for commercial space is estimated at 50 mil sq. ft. across the country. The average yearly absorption rates in Bangalore and NCR are about nine mil sq. ft. While six mil sq. ft. is absorbed in Mumbai, the rates are 4 to 5 mil sq. ft. each in Chennai and Hyderabad.

However, last year, Bangalore topped the list with the highest absorption of more than 13 mil sq. ft. of non-captive office space, about 2 mil sq. ft. more than the levels seen in 2010. About 80% of this came from the IT & ITES sector.

“Consolidation of real estate portfolios by Indian and MNC IT companies has boosted the real estate market in Bangalore,” said Karun Varma, MD (Bangalore and Kochi), and Jones Lang LaSalle India. “Demand for back offices and contact centres has resulted in continued strong growth in suburban real estate development, with IT companies lining up their investments for setting up new facilities in the city,” he added.

Experts predict demand for 16 mil sq. ft. of office space in 2012 in India’s Silicon Valley, which will be the highest ever in the country. This will be mostly due to the new SEZ norms and direct tax code (DTC) that will come into play.

About 75% of the 16 mil sq. ft. office space will be in upcoming SEZ regions. Recently, global investment banking firm Goldman Sachs took up 1 mil sq. ft. of office space developed by Kalyani Developers on the outer ring road. “Companies see an opportunity from a tax break perspective; so, many are planning to migrate their future work to SEZ parks,” said Shrinivas Rao, CEO (Asia Pacific), Vestian Global Workplace Services.

In the next three years, an additional 28.8 mil sq. ft. of office space will be available in the region, for which projects are already under way. “We are expecting to see about 6 to 7 mil sq. ft. of this to come up in 2012,” said Rao.

Economy and Realty in the Month of March 2012.

The report highlights the revised service tax and its impact on the consumers, the deduction in TDS and the current scenario of the External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) apart from its emphasis on the Chennai Realty Market.

Following are the key takeaways of the report:

– Chennai leads the market in terms of number of units under construction accounting for 68% of the total number of units coming up in the city, followed by the western region with 27%.

– Chennai is slated to witness the infusion of around 67500 residential units in the forthcoming three years.

– During 2011, the highest price rise was observed in the central areas of the city, to the tune of around10-18%.

– According to a United Nations study, Chennai has a deficit of around 60000 housing units. About 6000 of them are in the high income group segment, 12000 in the middle income group and 18000 in the low income group.

 

India Inc invested $2.7 bn overseas in the month of March.

Overseas investments by Indian companies stood at USD 2.77 billion in March, up 37.6 percent over the previous month, with Binani Industries, Mercator Lines, HCL Technologies, Varun Shipping, Hexaware Technologies, and Tata Steel emerging as major investors.

As many as 489 overseas investment transactions were carried out by various companies in March, as per the Reserve Bank data released Wednesday. Binani Industries invested a total of USD 323.34 million in its two wholly-owned subsidiaries based in Luxembourg and the US that are involved in financial, real estate and manufacturing services.

Mercator Lines, which is into agriculture and mining, through its joint venture-Mercator Offshore PTE- invested USD 150.15 million in Singapore during the month, it said. ABG Shipyard, through its wholly-owned subsidiary invested USD 80 million in Singapore.

HCL Technologies, India’s fourth largest software exporter, invested USD 60 million in Bermuda through its wholly owned subsidiary for providing financial, insurance and real estate solutions.
Likewise, Varun Shipping which is into transport, storage and communication business invested USD 60 million via its JV in Cyprus.

Hexaware Technologies invested USD 38.7 million through its wholly-owned subsidiary in Germany to provide financial, insurance, real estate solutions, it said. Tata Steel invested USD 35.5 million in Singapore through its wholly-owned unit, it said.

Noida: Unitech launches Gardens Galleria

Unitech, one of the India’s leading integrated developers of large-scale real estate projects, has launched Gardens Galleria in Noida. It is part of Unitech’s existing 147 acres entertainment-cum-retail destination in Noida.
Gardens Galleria, designed by US-based firm Callihon, is spread over 8.36 acres, is strategically positioned adjacent to sector -18, Noida and Film City. It is minutes away from ITO, East Delhi, South Delhi, and Noida Expressway. The project is in the midst of established residential areas, offices, colleges and other commercial towers.

The destination already comprises of an international standard themed amusement park Worlds of Wonder and The Great India Place, a shopping mall. The mall, a combination of entertainment, retail and hospitality, in Noida will comprise of hyper market, departmental stores, international shops, spa, gymnasium, banks, ATMs, food and fun joints. The project comprises 230 retail outlets and there is also parking facility for 8,500 cars. Unitech has already got over 10 lakh patrons a month in its three operational malls the Metro Walk in New Delhi, Great India Place in Noida and Gurgaon Central.

Commenting on the launch, Munish Baldev, head-retail of Unitech said, “We are happy to launch Gardens Galleria in Noida. Unitech has already developed 1.3 million sq ft of mall area in New Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon since 2006, and is developing another 4 million sq ft of retail space in cities such as Kochi, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Lucknow, Mohali, Bhopal, Bhub­aneswar, and Dehradun. We have always been bullish about the retail development space and have been developing the shopping malls as per our business plan. We have been getting strong traction from retailers for leasing of the mall-space under development.”

Genesis Luxury, Genesis Lifest­yle, French Connection, Nautica, Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Calvin Klein are among some of the major brands who have their stores in Galleria. The company is also developing another 4 million sq ft of retail space in cities such as Kochi, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Bangalore, Dehradun, Mohali, Lucknow, and Gurgaon in the next 4-5 years.

Surat: Realty Sector experiences 100% growth in 2 yrs.

Realty glitters in the diamond city. Real estate sector has witnessed a 100 per cent growth in the past two years, aided by a number of factors like vertical development, business opportunities and influx of people from other places.

Om Ahuja, CEO-residential services, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) India, said, “In cities like Surat, the growth is directly related to increased income of people. High income has also spawned more nuclear families.”

Chairman CREDAI, Surat, Tarun Rawal said, “On-going development of mass transport infrastructure and planned town planning schemes in the city has given confidence to people to go to faraway places to live. Hence, small sector projects – 1,500 sq ft houses – have gained a foothold in the city.”

Surat was the only city where people used to buy and sell properties without documents, but now awareness is growing. “Now small units have started to come up in huge numbers,” said Harshil Daliwala of SNS Builders.

The city is estimated to be spread over in an area of 326 sq km. It could further expand by another 200 sq km. “There is a plan to convert Surat-Navsari into twin cities which will together have a population of 1.15 crore people,” Surat Municipal Corporation’s director of planning Jivan Patel said.

 

Indian Realty Sector is Growing Bigger.

The real estate industry is expected to reach US $180 billion by 2020, said analysts and industry experts at a seminar organised in the city. As part of the Management Development programme, the students of the Acharya Bangalore B School attended a three-day seminar on Real Estate Management that started on Thursday.

Realtors and analysts from the field also attended the seminar to provide the students with future prospects and various professional options.

Presenting a paper on ‘Internet and Real Estate’, Business Head of 99Acres.com, Vineet Singh said, “As per reports by real estate intelligence firms, India is ranked as the fifth most attractive destination for future real estate investments in a list topped by China. The Indian real estate industry is expected to reach US $180 billion by 2020. This is a good platform to involve both academia and industry to facilitate dual growth and understanding. We get to know what the emerging new talent holds and they learn about the industry perspective.”

Industry experts from Brigade Group, Sobha Developers and other leading real estate organisations attended the event to train the students. “I’ve always had an interest in this industry as my family deals with real estate. But at this seminar I could ask a few basic questions and get industry relevant answers,” said Niharika Singh, a student.

Now Mirah to Grow into Realty Sector.

Mirah Group, a diversified business group with interests in food and beverage (F&B), hospitality, travel and international trading, is scaling up its real estate business and consolidating it under a single entity, said a top executive. The group, which runs popular restaurant chains and food stores including Rajdhani, Mad over Donuts and Manchester United Cafe and Bar, has completed around 10 real estate projects in the past decade. But it is only now that the group is organizing and branding the business under a new entity, Edifice Properties.

“We are looking to develop large mixed-development townships in Mumbai and Pune,” said Gaurav Goenka, managing director, Mirah Group. The first project is a 300-acre township in Nagpur, which has received funding in the form of foreign direct investment from a subsidiary of Bank of Scotland. The second will be a township in Pune, and the third, of 200-300 acres in Thane, is in the land acquisition stage.

In the F&B space, Mirah Group, known for expanding through acquisitions, is in talks to buy stakes in both domestic and international brands. “International brands are coming in by the dozen and we will look at picking up stakes in brands that are scalable and have a USP (unique selling proposition),” said Goenka.

The firm intends to invest around Rs.200 crore in this space in two-three years. It will expand Rajdhani, its flagship brand, from 35 outlets to 50 in a year and Mad Over Donuts to 100 from the current 35. Cafe Mangii, which is present only in Mumbai, will travel to Bangalore and Delhi and expand from five to 15 restaurants.

Mirah also runs a chain of hotels under the brand name, Citrus. From the current lot of seven hotels, it plans to open another seven that it will itself build, own and operate. Besides running its own F&B outlets, last year, Mirah Hospitality, a part of Mirah Group, invested Rs.40 crore and acquired a 26% stake in Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality Pvt. Ltd, which runs cafes and fine dining restaurants such as Mocha and Smoke House Deli.

Saloni Nangia, senior vice-president at retail consultancy Technopak Advisors Pvt. Ltd, said that with the fast pace of growth in the number of people across socio-economic strata eating out and ordering in, the F&B space in India will only grow from where it is today. “While a lot of modern retail will move online, F&B, still being an experience-related business, will continue to grow,” she said.

Retail consultants said the F&B sector will continue to draw the attention of investors such as private equity and venture capital funds. Jacob Kurian, a partner at Asia-focused private equity fund New Silk Route, said the fund is exploring opportunities in the sector. New Silk Route is in talks to buy a stake in Adiga’s, a south Indian restaurant chain.

Dhanlaxmi Bank to cut costs, not shutting branches.

Indian private lender Dhanlaxmi Bank said it does not plan to shut down branches or shrink operations, but has initiated steps, including salary cuts, to control costs as it grapples with pressured margins.

“We have no plans to shut down any of our branches. We want to grow,” PG Jayakumar, the bank’s chief executive, told reporters.

The small-sized bank also plans to surrender excess real estate in metros and major cities.

Last week, the Economic Times newspaper reported that the bank plans to shut 30 branches in major cities as part of a revival plan.

The bank swung to a net loss of about 370 million rupees ($7.2 million) in the December quarter as costs soared and revenues shrank.

Consumers and businesses have rushed to park their money in long-term deposits, burdening banks with high costs, while lenders have been struggling to grow their loan books to boost profits.

“Strain on profits in one or two quarters is not going to affect us badly,” Dhanlaxmi said in a statement on Monday.

It plans to focus on loans against gold, small and medium enterprises and retail businesses for growth and expects a net interest margin of 2.5-3 per cent in the current financial year that ends in March.

The bank said it plans to raise 2 billion rupees each of tier 2 and tier 1 capital in the fiscal first and second quarter, respectively.

Shares of the bank, which has a market capitalisation of $126.3 million, ended down nearly 2 per cent in a weak Mumbai market on Monday.

Gulita Acquires by Piramal Realty For 452 Cr From HUL.

Piramal Realty has acquired Gulita – property in south Mumbai from Hindustan Unilever for R452Cr. Piramal Realty is planning to develop high-end luxury apartments on the one-acre land and Ajay Piramal might keep a part of it for his personal use, given the premium location, according to ET.
Gulita is a one-acre property in Worli Seaface, which used to house a training centre and private residences of senior executives of Unilever’s Indian arm.

Gulita was built in 1968 and the land was taken on a perpetual lease from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation–the Mumbai civic authority. The property was put on the block after the company set up a new campus in the suburbs of Andheri and shifted its training facilities there.

Since HUL put the building on block, it has attracted several buyers which included Anil Ambani, Gautam Adani, Oberoi Realty and Sahara.

Last year, Piramal Realty acquired a plot of land in Mumbai from Mafatlal Industries Ltd for about R760Cr. Khushru Jijina – MD of piramal Realty said that the company plans to develop five residential projects in Mumbai at an estimated investment of about R1500Cr. The company will develop about 30 million sq. ft. through land acquisitions funded from its own sources.

Recently in real estate space, Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd sold 2 acre plot in Mumbai to Adani Enterprises for R900Cr to repay its debt. Ascendas Property Fund Trustee Private Limited, the Trustee-Manager of Ascendas India Trust (a-iTrust) has acquired two operating Buildings in Hitec City 2 Special Economic Zone in Hyderabad, India, from Phoenix Infocity Pvt Ltd for R176.5Cr; while IL&FS Investment Managers bought Logix Group’s four office buildings in Noida for R600Cr.

 

New Project Orris Curio City

Orris Group presents a new project on Noida Expressway the project name is Orris Curio City which means Anokhi Kalatmak Vastuyain, Orris Curio City offers plots in this project this is housing projects of Orris Group. Orris Curio City is good for unique lifestyle, lavish greens and leisure, comfort and luxury artful living.

Orris Curio City Distance Overview

Drive From                        Min (Approx.)

Kalandi Kunj                           25 Mins.

South Delhi                             35 Mins.

Sector-18,Noida                   20 Mins.

Night Safari                            10 Mins.

Akshardham                          20 Mins.

Proposed Airport               15 Mins.

Metro Station                       20 Mins.

Formula                                1 5 Mins.

 

Cities will become taller as Plan panel seeks higher floor space index.

The skyline of Indian cities could soar as the government considers permitting vertical growth with the aim of checking runaway realty prices and generating resources to upgrade urban infrastructure for future growth. A Planning Commission steering committee, in its draft report, has recommended providing additional FSI (floor space index; the ratio between built-up area and plot size) as development rights, but said it should not come free of cost.

The panel said the charges for additional FSI and land-use conversions should be at least 50% of the circle rate in the area and should be determined professionally. It added that additional FSI should be permitted selectively.

The commission’s steering group on urbanization said the revenue from grant of additional FSI should be “suitably ring-fenced for funding infrastructure projects to sustain higher FSI”. “The proposals, if accepted, would substantially increase availability of housing stock and moderate realty prices,” said an urban development ministry official.

Calling the present density regulations in Indian cities “archaic”, the report noted that Indian cities had the lowest FSI in the world. “This (densification) should be part of a balanced strategy for expanding the effective supply of prime land and, in the process, raising funds to finance urban infrastructure improvements,” the committee noted.

The Centre should introduce incentives that encourage states and cities to pursue densification strategies for future urban development, it said. Many cities were already levying such charges for additional FSI in some form or the other, it noted. Hyderabad, for instance, has a ‘city level impact fee for high rise buildings’ and Ahmedabad has systematically been selling a limited amount of additional FSI.

The committee said higher FSI should go hand in hand with provisions such as amalgamation of plots to make housing more affordable. Rather than the current practice of having a blanket FSI across a city, the panel wanted mixed land use promoted through the concept of granular FSI. “Densification with mixed land use as a planning strategy needs to be followed by the authorities to accommodate future urbanization needs,” said a ministry official.