 |
|
| REAL ESTATE |
|
|
|
|
|
Waiting for genuine buyers
Realty scene in and around Sonepat and Panipat does not present a rosy picture as several investors are reeling under the recent slump in prices, reports
Vishal Joshi
In the past couple of years, the two NCR districts had witnessed a sudden surge in the property prices. Scores of private builders had initiated several commercial and residential projects besides the state’s projects on the GT Road belt. Varinder Singh, a property agent, said following the change of command in the state in 2005 realty prices had appreciated like anything. Since scores of development projects were announced in the state, the NCR region obviously benefited the most from it. In order to earn hefty profits, scores of investors mainly from Dehra Dun, Jaipur and New Delhi, pumped in money in the local property. Impressed with the excellent returns for their lands, the local landlords also started buying land in large number. This sudden inflow of investment thus resulted in price rise but the spurt could not be sustained for a long time, he added. It was an ‘artificial boom’ which lured many small time investors also to invest in the realty mart. But the absence of genuine buyers sent the market topsy turvy as suddenly there were very few takers for “pricy” plots. Market watchers term the downfall of price as the problem of plenty. “Where are the buyers?” asked a leading real estate agent. He said those who had bought property at a high premium in order to get good return were not finding buyers. Prices are quite high and investors find it hard to have genuine buyers for the expected price tags. Investors from other states, however, exited from the scene after reaping rich profits leaving the local and small time investors in
the lurch. But agents like Amit Kumar are still hopeful of the prices bouncing back. “It is a temporary phase and the market will soon flourish as mega projects like Rajiv Gandhi Education City and others are coming up in the region,” he said, echoing the sentiments of investors who have been hit by
the recent slump in the sector.
|
|
|
Mall boom
With projects worth a whopping Rs 4,500 crore lined up, mall culture has come to Jalandhar in a big way as this NRI heartland embracing chic shopping experience, reports
Dharmendra Joshi
Jalandhar is gradually becoming the hub of shopping malls in the state, especially in the Doaba region which is popularly known as the area of NRIs. While three malls and multiplexes are already operational in different parts of the city, over a dozen others are under construction. All this is set to make Jalandhar, the home of sports goods industry, a shopper’s paradise soon. Sarb multiplex, located on Jalandhar-Amritsar national highway number one, was opened last year. While two theatres are already operational in this multiplex, the shopping area is yet to become operational. Besides this two shopping malls of Ansal API and a local builder, PPR group, are almost ready on GT road towards Phagwara and on Mithapur road, respectively. Apart from this, over a dozen malls are under construction in different parts of the city. Most of these are being built by leading land developers of the country. Actually land developers are investing money in Jalandhar seeing the positive response generated by about three dozen retail outlets, including seven each of Reliance Fresh, Subhiksha, Spencer and at least one each of V-Mart, Vishal Mega Mart and CMC Bazaar. This has also jacked up the realty prices in areas in and around the city. Reliance group had bought almost 2.94 acres in front of Medical College on Garha road for Rs 107 crore at a PUDA auction a few months back. DLF also purchased eight acres on GT road for Rs 88 crore. Meanwhile, the prominent under construction shopping malls are being built by DLF near Ambedkar chowk and on the land of Naaz cinema, MBD group near BSF chowk, Emaar MGF on Nakodar road and by TDI near Namdev Chowk. Besides two malls are being constructed on Shahpur road and one more is coming up near Jyoti chowk. Talking to The Tribune, senior manager projects of Emaar MGF, V.K Tripathi, said the shopping mall being built on Nakodar road would be ready by May this year. The mall would comprise three theatres, food courts with entertainment facilities for children, he added. Similarly Nitesh Kumar, president (marketing), TDI Group, said the shopping mall near Namdev Chowk would be spread over an area of 1,70,000 sq ft with a G+5 structure plus two basements for ample parking. “We are proud to present our first mall in Jalandhar that will be a conglomerate of retail, food and corporate offices”, he added. On an average, approximately Rs 300 crore, including the price of the land, is being spent on the construction of each of these malls. Thus almost Rs 4,500 crore will be spent on giving a mall makeover to the city. All these major developers are aiming to rake in hefty profits from these ventures in the years to come as rentals too are on an upswing in the city. A regular stream of NRI customers all over the year, cash-rich agriculturalists are some of the reasons that have resulted in the influx of mega malls in the city. “The response to the seven Reliance Fresh outlets opened last year in different parts of the city is tremendous and this is a heartening fact which has given enough motivation to several major players to enter this part of Punjab in a big way”, said Rohit Jain, vice-president of Reliance Retail in Punjab. Most of the people here, especially those belonging to middle class and lower middle class families, believe in traditional shopping and even now prefer to shop at small shops. However, some of them are now gradually turning toward big retail outlets, an indication of bright future for shopping mall culture, he added.
|
||
|
Tie-up for Rs 1000-cr township project
New Delhi: Real estate company Uppal Group has tied up with IL&FS-funded venture capital firm QVC Realty for developing a 150-acre township in Gurgaon, entailing a cost of Rs 1,000 crore. “We have entered into an agreement with QVC for developing a township at a prime location in Gurgaon. It will be a Rs 1,000-crore township, where the project cost will be shared equally by both the parties," Uppal Group Director (Finance) Ajay Mangal said. The company has diluted 50 per cent stake of the project to QVC Realty and expects a realisation of Rs 1,600 crore from the project, he said. Uppal has already acquired the land for Rs 600 crore in Gurgaon, Sector 99, which is adjacent to the Special Economic Zone being developed by Reliance, Mangal said. The construction work would start in 4-5 months and would be completed in four years. It would primarily be a residential complex, with some portion for commercial purpose, he added. — PTI Emaar MGF to enter hospitality sector
New Delhi: Leading realty firm Emaar MGF, currently in the process of raising up to Rs 6,457 crore through an IPO, is planning an investment of Rs 15,000 crore for its pan-India foray in the hospitality segment. Emaar MGF Land, a joint venture between one of the world's leading real estate companies Emaar Properties PJSC of Dubai and MGF Development, intends to develop hotels across the value chain, covering the luxury, up-market, mid-market and budget segments, sources said. Emaar MGF is planning to add about 26,000 keys over the next seven years with hospitality properties in multiple cities, sources added. The current projects under development in the business and luxury categories are located in Delhi, Kolkata, Amritsar and Dehra Dun to be completed in fiscal 2009-2010. These projects would add about 1,100 rooms over the next three years. For current project roll out, Emaar MGF Land has entered into an operating agreement and a Memorandum of Understanding with global hospitality giant Marriott Group to develop properties in Kolkata and Amritsar.
— PTI
Ramky Infra to float IPO
New Delhi: Aiming to cash in on the burgeoning construction sector, Ramky Infrastructure Ltd will invest Rs 15,000 crore over the next five years as it firms up plans to enter the capital market to raise about Rs 400 crore. “We will invest about Rs 15,000 crore in the next five years for developing infrastructure and real estate projects across the country,” Ramky Group chairman Ayodhya Rami Reddy said. During the 2008-09 financial year, the company plans to invest Rs 600-1,000 crore in different projects, he added. The company has also filed the Draft Red Herring Prospectus with the market regulator SEBI for raising about Rs 400 crore through a 100 per cent book building process. The Hyderabad-based firm would utilise the IPO proceeds for the Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), working capital and creating equipment bank, Reddy said. Ramky is currently developing three integrated townships and six industrial parks, besides many road, bridge, waste management, irrigation and power transmission projects.
— PTI
Parsvnath ties up with ITC
New Delhi: Realty firm Parsvnath Developers Ltd has tied up with diversified conglomerate ITC for managing hotel properties, which it would develop at a cost of Rs 2,500 crore in the next three to five years. As per the agreement, ITC will manage 50 hotels comprising 4,100 rooms across the country for Parsvnath Hotels Ltd, a subsidiary of Parsvnath Developers, the company said. The management will be done by ITC’s Fortune Park Hotels, while Parsvnath Hotels would own and develop these 50 hotels. Parsvnath Hotels would invest about Rs 2,500 crore to develop the hotel projects, of which 20 would be five stars, 20 four stars and 10 three stars and budget hotels. "At present, we are developing 17 hotels, of which seven would be managed by ITC. The remaining 10 would be managed by other hotel chains," Parsvnath Developers Chairman Pradeep Jain said. The seven hotels are located at Ranchi, Lucknow, Indore, Jodhpur, Ujjain, Chandigarh and Dehra Dun and are expected to be operational by 2010, he added.
— PTI
|
||
|
Married daughters have an equal share in father’s property By S.C. Vasudeva Q. This is regarding a recent amendment to the Hindu Succession Act 1956. I want to know whether it covers the daughters who are already married on the date of amendment. As per a write up which appeared in the Indian Express (dated 16.12.2004), the writer Manoj Mitta stated, “The proposed reform will not, however, apply to daughters married before the enactment of the amendment. This means that a woman who is already married cannot become a co-parcener in her father’s family”. I shall be thankful if you kindly clarify whether the daughters already married on the date of enactment of the amendment i.e. 9.9.2005 have an equal share rather any share in the HUF property. — Balbir Singh, Mohali A. The Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act 1956 has been amended by substituting the existing Section with a new Section. It has now been provided that on and from the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 in a joint Hindu family governed by the Mitakshara Law, the daughter of a co-parcener shall become a co parcener by birth in her own right in the same manner as the son, have the same right in the co-parcernery property as she would have had if she had been a son and be subject to same liabilities in respect of the said co-parcenery property as those of a son. It has also been provided in the said section that any reference to a Hindu Mitakshara co-parcerner shall be deemed to include a reference to a daughter of a co-parcener. The proviso to sub section (1) also states that whatever has been affected prior to December 20, 2004 shall not be invalidated. I do not find any exception carved out for daughters who are married as on the date of amendment. It may be possible to argue that funds of HUF had been utilised for the marriage of the daughter and therefore no co-parcenery rights should be afforded to such daughters. However, it will be an argument to be preferred before the court. The statement of objects also does not indicate any such exception as pointed by Mitta. He has given his opinion in the article which seems to be logical. However, the final arbiter in such a case would be the Supreme Court of
India.
Ownership of coop society plot Q. With reference to reply given by you (The Tribune dated 02-02-2008) to my query regarding ownership of a cooperative society plot, I want to inform you that the Registry is in the names of all 42 members and the society has issued authorisation letters to all members giving the number of a particular plot allotted out of this land. In the circumstances, the ownership having granted, there is no restriction on its transfer or sale. You are therefore requested to confirm the basis of valuation of acquisition. As already stated I have no cash receipts for this transaction in my possession. — P. N. Gupta, Sangrur A. It had been clarified in the reply given in February 2, 2008 issue that the cost of the plot should be calculated by taking into account the amount paid by you towards the acquisition of the plot plus the registration charges to be incurred for the transfer of plot in your favour. As you have explained that the registration has been affected in the name of 42 members of the society, the consideration for the acquisition of the plot should be as per the amount specified in the Deed of Registration plus the proportionate registration charges. In case the total amount has been specified in respect of all 42 members, the cost may be computed by dividing the consideration by the total area specified in the deed multiplied by the area allotted to you. It had been stated in the earlier query that the acquisition was made in the year 1979. The fair market value of the plot as on 01.04.1981 would form the basis for computation of the capital gain. You may get such fair value determined by obtaining a valuation certificate from an approved valuer.
Can my mother sell the property? Q. My grandfather gave property to my father as well as my uncle during division. Both have no registry for this property. My father gave owner in possession (ownership) to my mother in 1992 through the court and bought my uncle’s portion in 1998. My father died in 2007, but in municipal records both the properties are still in the names of my father and uncle. During the court case with the tenant of my uncle property registry has been lost in court (we have photocopy of the registry). My question is:- 1) Can my mother sell the property after it is transferred in her name in municipal records. 2) How can she transfer this property in my name. Does she have to make a registry in my name and how much it will cost. I mean do we have to pay full revenue to get it in my name? 3) Will I be able to sell the property after I get it transferred in my name? 4) Can I apply for loan against this property after it is transferred in my name? — Jatinder Jain, Sangrur A. The reply to your queries is as under: (i) As the ownership of the property is in your mother’s name in view of the court orders as well as per the municipal records, so she can sell the property. (ii) She can Will the said property in your favour which will come to you after her death. The registration issue would arise in case the property is sold or gifted to you. The registration charges in respect of sale/gift are leviable by the state government and therefore you will have to check up with the authorities concerned about the stamp duty etc; chargeable for the registration of the sale/gift deed. (iii) You can sell the property after the same has been transferred in your favour. You can also apply and obtain a loan subject, however, to the satisfaction and compliance of the conditions of the bankers/financial institutions or any other similar entity from whom the loan is sought to be obtained.
Can I claim rebate on loan? Q. My wife has a house which was constructed from her resources in 1998. There is a proposal to construct an additional floor for which we have already obtained an approval from the municipal authorities. I have necessary funds for the purpose of constructing the said floor. I am employed in a bank and can also obtain loan from the bank against the construction. Will I be entitled to claim the interest in respect of such loan against my income? — Raj Kumar A. The Income-tax Act 1961 (the Act) contains provision for allowance of: (a) deduction of interest paid in respect of the amount borrowed for construction/acquisition of a house; and (b) deduction in respect of amount paid towards the repayment of loan borrowed for construction/acquisition of a house within the overall limit of Rs 1,00,000 specified in Section 80C of the Act. These deductions are, however, allowed to an owner of the house. For the purposes of getting such deduction you will have to get the land leased in your favour or buy the property from your wife. Your wife can also gift the said property to you and a gift deed for the same will have to be registered in your favour. You would thereafter be entitled to claim the aforesaid deductions.
The writer can be contacted at sc@scvasudeva.com
|
||
|
The considerate cut
With several major banks slashing home loan rates, the housing sector in the country is all set to get a new lease of life, says
S.C. Dhall
While property developers earned billions this financial year by mopping up money from the bourses, owning a decent home remained a distant dream for a common man in view of the rising interest rates amid firm real estate prices. In its monetary policy the Reserve Bank of India too gave no indication of a rate cut. But several banks are now lowering lending rates on housing loans keeping in view the slowdown of loan growth in the third quarter ending December 2007. HDFC, one of the biggest lender in this segment, has taken the lead by cutting home loan rates by 0.25 per cent. Since June 2007 the housing finance company has been offering fresh home loans at the rate of 11 per cent. Canara Bank and Allahabad Bank were the next in line. While Canara Bank has reduced interest rates by 25 basis points for new as well as existing borrowers from February 7. Allahabad Bank cut interest rates only for new borrowers by 50 points on home loans. Both the banks have reduced the rates on the overall market scenario. Corporation Bank too has reduced the rate by 50 basis points for both existing as well as new borrowers from February 15. Meanwhile, the finance minister P. Childambaram is to meet chief executives of public sector banks on February 12 to review the interest rate situation. Indications are that the finance minister might again try and convince bank chairmen to look at reducing interest rates thereby giving a boost to economic growth. Earlier, the finance minister had met public sector bank chiefs on January 4, 2008 when he sent out a signal to the RBI and banks that he would prefer the lending rates to move down by 50 basis points. But this seemed to have little effect as the RBI Governor had not given a hint of rate cut in its policy announced on January 29. He, however, indulged in moral persuasion asking the bank chairmen to look at moderation in lending rates. State-owned UCO Bank is also planning to reduce the interest rate by 0.5 per cent. Bank of India and Bank of Maharastra have also indicated a cut in the rate of interest for home loans. The asset liability committee of the SBI will also review the lending rates keeping in mind the cost implications and market trends. The ICICI bank is studying the cost of funds and is keeping a close watch on the situation. The ICICI bank has already offered 50 basis points lower interest rates to new borrowers on home loans till February 2008. ICICI’s lending has already come down to 22.4 per cent from compounding growth of 30 per cent. It is to be noted that housing finance companies are required to maintain a capital adequacy ratio of 12 per cent. While, banks have to keep aside Rs 32.5 of every Rs 100 raised to meet cash reserve ratio and statutory liquidity ratio requirements as per RBI’s directives. housing finance companies are monitored by the National Housing Bank while banks are governed by RBI. In its monetary policy announced on January 29 RBI had placed the onus of reducing interest rates on banks. Thus with all major housing finance companies and banks slashing the already sky high interest rates on housing loans, it is likely that home loan applications would now see a new surge. But it is advisable to understand the financial implications of the move before filing your home loan application. A major concern among the home loan seekers is whether the new reduced rates will continue for long or are just short term. Though most banks attribute the lowering of interest rates to a combination of various factors, experts believe that the current competition in home loan segment has played a vital role. With almost all major public sector banks in the process of slashing the interest rates by 0.50 per cent, the home loan product market has never been so competitive. The customer is now in a quandary about selecting a bank offering the best interest rates. The writer is a senior banker
|
||
|
Burj Dubai set to become tallest building
Work on the Burj Dubai, set to become the world's tallest building, has been accelerated with 50 per cent of its exterior cladding being completed. “The architectural and design splendour of Burj Dubai is now coming to fruition with the installation of the cladding, which is being executed on an accelerated schedule,” Emaar Properties, developer of the project, stated in a company press release here. “With 50 per cent of the work completed, Burj Dubai is setting new milestones in the speed of construction of super-high-rises,” it said. The cladding work is being done by the Arabian Aluminium Company in phases across various levels to match the project timelines. More than 12,000 panels covering an area of over 50,000 square metres have been installed on the tower, which is now unofficially the world’s tallest freestanding structure. More than 80 storeys currently don the cladding system. The primary materials used are reflective glazing, aluminium and textured steel spandrels, and vertical stainless steel tubular fins. Burj Dubai is now 604.9 metres tall. Though the final height and number of floors have not been revealed as yet, speculation here is that it might be 900 metres tall. It is now taller than the Taipei 101 (508 metres) in Taiwan, officially the world’s tallest building and CN Tower (553 metres) in Toronto, Canada. The Burj Dubai will be officially recognised as the world’s tallest structure only when the construction is fully completed, which is expected to be towards the end of this year. The super-tall structure will feature residences, commercial space and retail space and hospitality elements including the world’s first Armani Hotel and Armani Residences. Burj Dubai is the centrepiece of Emaar’s flagship project, the 73 billion dirham ($20 billion) Downtown Burj Dubai, a one square km new area in this West Asian metropolis featuring residential properties and commercial buildings.
— IANS
|
||
|
Recipe for a perfect kitchen Jagvir Goyal
Space planning: Many things need to be accommodated in the small area called kitchen. Cooking range, electric chimney, sink, refrigerator, storage cabinets, trolleys, microwave and an optional breakfast counter with two or four chairs are some of the major items. In addition to these, the kitchen has to be kept scrupulously clean, free of insects and fully workable. Take care of these aspects at planning stage itself. For that, concentrate on three most important things, the worktop, the refrigerator and the sink. These are to be arranged in a way so that these make a triangle with none of three sides as less than 5 feet and not more than 8 feet apart. Further, a door should not lie on any of the three sides. Just draw a basic sketch of your kitchen and mark this triangle and very soon, you will be able to construct it. This will lay the most convenient set up to work in the kitchen. Planning options: If you have narrow space for kitchen, choose a straight line design. In this type of design, refrigerator will be followed by the sink with a window above it and then the hob or burner with storage cabinets and chimney above it. All three items will be in a straight line. If you have a little wider area for kitchen, choose gallery design with refrigerator and a work top along one wall and sink and hob on the opposite wall. If you have a large area for kitchen, then choose U-shaped design with refrigerator along one wall, the hob with the cabinets and chimney above, along the second wall and sink and window along the third wall. Otherwise an L shaped design is suitable for all kitchens, most popular in India and very convenient. It has the refrigerator followed by vacant counter top with storage cabinets above it while the hob and the sink are provided along the adjacent wall. As Vaastu advises to keep fire and water apart, hob is sometimes adjusted in the vacant counter top. Flooring and worktop: Kitchen floor shouldn’t be slippery. Utility should be given priority over beauty. Therefore, choose marble flooring or anti-skid tile flooring for kitchen. Provide 4” high matching skirting. Choose a granite work top as this is the best option. Don’t go for artificial synthetic counters being heavily advertised these days. Provide a two foot high glazed tile dado above the worktop. Keep the width of worktop as minimum 24 inches. Use modular kitchen: Today, modular kitchens are prevalent and almost everyone is opting for them keeping in view their vast utility. These are called modular because entire area of kitchen is divided into modules and planned. Cost is the only factor that sometimes drives people away from modular kitchens. Don’t allow that to happen. People easily spend a few lakhs extra on switching over from a perfect Maruti 800 to a luxury car but not Rs 1.5 lakh on the kitchen. The size of your kitchen is taken by the modular kitchen designer who leaves it to the computer to best fit all appliances in that space. You can check various options on the computer before finalising one. Once fabricated, a modular kitchen can be installed in very less time, even in just 72 hours. Choosing modular kitchen: Ready made kitchens from top modular kitchen providers like Hacker, Alno, Poggenpohl, (all German), Arrital Cucine, Europlak, Veneta Cucine, Copat Cucine (read kitchen) (all Italian) and Lispo, Sleek, Ultrafresh (all Indian) can be bought by paying hefty sums and leaving the job to them. Most of them provide 100 per cent imported and screw-less modules that are easy to assemble or dismantle. Next category is of local modular kitchen providers. Earlier, they were charging hefty sums but tough competition has now optimised the cost of modular kitchens. Last and cheapest option is to hire your own carpenter. Here, we generally don’t take into account the time and effort involved in arranging the long lists of materials like board, ply, nails, screws, glues etc demanded by the carpenter. And even after that, a perfect finish is still doubtful. Another important factor is the after sales service. While a carpenter will square up his accounts and leave, a modular kitchen provider will give this service for some years and by that time, you will get tuned to your kitchen. Therefore, best option is to check the kitchens built by local modular kitchen makers and choose one from amongst them. While doing that, always ask them to show a kitchen actually built by them in a house and you will get an idea of their workmanship. Important dimensions: In kitchen, keep the height of worktop as 32 inch, best for the average height of Indian women and to avoid back problems. Keep the bottom of cabinets above the worktop as 56 inch from the floor or 24 inch above the worktop to provide easy access. Keep the depth of cabinets above the worktop as not more than 12 inch as it is not possible to reach inside a deeper cabinet. Moreover, deeper cabinets protrude too much and may cause injuries. Openness and ventilation: Prefer not to choose an open kitchen. Indians use a lot of oil and fried food. An open kitchen allows the smoke to spread and fill the other rooms. Always keep the kitchen well illuminated. Provide a large window, preferably above the sink with clear glass panes for natural light. This gives good light and ventilation to sink area of the kitchen. Psychological studies reveal that the presence of a window in the wall above the sink saves the women from depression while cleaning the utensils. Further, choose white light CFLs, enough in number to illuminate every corner of the kitchen. Fit the tube-lights overhead to eliminate all shadows. The author is Director Estates, PSEB, and can be reached at www.jagvirgoyal.com
|
||
|
Income from realty trusts may be taxed
Taxation of income from Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) on the lines of mutual funds, permission for investment in housing development activities, exemption from capital gains tax on the sale of assets of REITs and VAT ability of stamp duty payable by a REIT are among the 15-point recommendations made by FICCI on the draft (Real Estate Investment Trusts) regulations issued by the government.
FICCI has suggested that taxation on income from REITs should be such that the income gets taxed only once till the stage of its distribution to the end investor. In a mutual fund if it is dividend, the fund pays the dividend distribution tax and there is no tax in the hands of the investors. A similar tax structure should be worked out for REITs as well. Further, it feels that there should be no capital gains tax on the+ sale of assets of REITs. A FICCI note has pointed out that among the various classes of real estate, the one which is most needed in India today, is housing. Middle Income Group housing is developed and sold by the developer to individual homeowners. This asset class, partly due to the prevailing tenancy laws, is not held by real estate developers for giving out on rent. Section 51 (1) and (2) stipulates that investment should only be in income-generating real estate. This would mean that funds from REITs cannot be employed for residential housing at all. In other words, REITs will only promote commercial buildings and give no assistance whatsoever to promote housing. The chamber has therefore recommended that Section 51 be amended so as to allow REITs to invest in housing development activities as well and not be restricted to income-generating real estate only. Apart from the recommendations on the draft REITs regulation, FICCI has called upon the union finance minister to do away with the service tax on rental income from commercial property in the ensuing Budget. While rental income needs to be made tax free, FICCI has called for a duty drawback scheme could be introduced for developers on account of creating affordable housing stock. The excise duties paid on raw materials such as cement, steel could be paid back. It has also underlined the need for fixing a time frame by the central government in awarding environmental clearance for real estate projects, and that the project completion certificate be given only after obtaining the environmental clearance certificate.
|
||
|
Global pvt equity firms to invest $48 bn
Global private equity firms are likely to invest $48 billion in the Indian market over the next two years, with the real estate sector slated to emerge as a key beneficiary, industry body
Assocham said. Currently, there are over 400 PE firms operating in India and the number would increase by another 70 by 2010. The real estate sector is likely to emerge as the key beneficiary of PE investments as it would give 35-50 per cent profit margin, the chamber said in a paper on ‘Private
Equity The Money Tree’. The other sectors that will see huge PE investments are information technology, banking, financial services, health care and pharmaceuticals, it said. According to estimates by the chamber, about 150 PE funds are scouting for opportunities in India with a fund base of $10 billion. India attracted $17.14 billion of PE investments in 2007, while the investments were $8.3 billion for China. However in 2006, China had received $13 billion in PE investments, compared to India’s $7 billion. “This is indicative of the fact that India has already established an edge over China as far as PE Investments are concerned and this trend would continue for a few more years,” Assocham president Venugopal Dhoot said. The real estate sector cornered 26 per cent share of the total PE investment in value terms, receiving $2.6 billion in 32 deals, followed by the telecom sector with a 21 per cent share and investments of $2.1 billion, the chamber said. According to the study, private equity has emerged as an attractive mid-point along the financial spectrum for Indian companies seeking to raise capital. Between April 2006 and February 2007, $11.89 billion has come
in equity. — PTI
|
||
|
Website for Orissa real estate market launched
A website on the real estate market in Orissa has been launched. It will provide information on new housing projects, their locations, cost and other amenities available in the complex. “The website, gharabari.com, contains information about different home loans schemes offered by banks and other financial institutions to buy property,” MD of the site D.S Tripathy said. The website, first of its kind in the state, also provides information about how much registration and stamp duty of a new property would cost and the rate of registration in different towns of the state, he said. The real estate growth in the state is mostly in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Berhampur, Sambalpur and Puri. In the past two years real estate market in Orissa has seen unprecedented growth and it is now become a Rs 800 crore industry, Tripathy said. He added that the site was attracting corporate, business houses, NRIs, NROs (Non Resident Oriyas) to get information about the property and many real estate developers, banks and houseowners were putting up advertisements on the website.
— PTI
|
||
|
Indian firm builds luxury condos in Nepal
The Gurgaon-headquartered Ravi Jaipuria group has begun consolidating business in Nepal by launching its first residential project in Kathmandu and announcing plans to bring Pizza Hut and Costa Coffee to Nepal. “Already 50 per cent of our luxury condominiums have been booked,” said Kamlesh Jain, country manager for Varun Beverages, RJ Corp’s bottling agency for Pepsi in Nepal. The group is the sole bottler for Pepsi in the country. In 2006, Jaipuria Sunrise, the real estate arm of the group, had announced it would invest about Rs 3.5 billion ($89 million) to develop residential complexes in Sri Lanka and Nepal. The booking for the 185 upmarket condominiums in Kathmandu’s Dhapasi area began in January and the first possessions will be given from 2010. The flats cost between 9 and 23 million Nepali rupees and are said to be the first to get environmental clearance from Nepal’s government.
— IANS
|
||
|
Stadia group to invest 1,000 crore
Stadia Infrastructure Projects Pvt Ltd (SIPPL) will invest Rs 1,000 crore over the next three years to develop a chain of malls and townships in northern India. “We will invest close to Rs 1,000 crore over the next three years to develop a chain of superstores in north India,” company CMD Pradeep Seth said. The company will set up a ‘resort township’ in Jodhpur entailing an investment of Rs 800 crore. SIPPL is also setting up an integrated shopping mall-majestic
Stadia. It will house Jodhpur’s first supermarket, a four-screen multiplex and a budget hotel. '“Our target is to open five centres by 2010 and another eight by 2012. Of this, the first phase would include Patiala, Mandi
Gibindgarh, Karnal, Jaipur and Jodhpur,” he said. — UNI
|
||
|
Prices of real estate in the NCR region of Sonepat and Panipat districts are reportedly tumbling in the absence of “genuine” buyers. Market watchers claim that the prices have dipped up to 10 per cent and the downward trend is likely to continue for some more time. This has come as bad news for all those who had invested huge sums in real estate in the hope of cashing in on the realty boom
in the area.
But inquiries revealed that the prices had failed to rise in the past eight to nine months. Real estate experts feel that the high prices of residential areas that had gone up to a whopping Rs 16,000 per sq yard were mainly responsible for the poor market. The exhorbitant prices scared the
genuine buyers, who preferred to stay away from the property market. 
Health and hygiene being the mantra for modern living, architects and interior designers are now giving due importance to kitchen planning and accessories. With many kitchen options now available, here are a few tips to have a really workable, enjoyable, clean and good looking kitchen: