Indian Property News on 'March, 2007'

A Time to Rejoice for Indian Real Estate Developers

Now comes the satisfying time for Indian real estate developers when they can invest anywhere in and around the National Capital Region (NCR) like Gurgaon, Noida, and in Ghaziabad.

In Kundli, after the commencement of work on Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway, land prices for an acre of land have jumped to Rs. 2-3 crore from Rs. 25 -40 lakh per acre whereas in Bahadurgarh, few kilometers from Kundli, the rates have increased from Rs 13-18 lakh per acre to Rs 50- 90 lakh per acre. Read More »

Andhra Govt. Getting Cement at Same Old Rate

The cement manufacturers in Andhra Pradesh (AP) have agreed to supply the production at the rate of Rs.140 - Rs.150 per bag. These prices are applicable only to the direct government purchases.

The Officers’ Committee discussed the issue with the industry and narrow down on the decision to instruct the companies to supply cement at the old prices till March 31. This would save the government a whopping amount i.e. Rs. 15 crore, as told by the senior government official.

The meeting followed the notice issued by the cement manufacturers post – Budget, who claimed that such a high excise duty of Rs 10 per bag will force them to increase the prevailing prices by another Rs 12- Rs 15 per bag. Such a decision forced the government to relax the rules as this put construction activities on long hold. Thanks to the chief minister and subsequent meetings by the officials that prevented the situation to go worse and agreed to maintain the price only till March 31, 2007. Read More »

Govt. to Review RBI’s Stand on SEZs Financing

The RBI’s view of treating bank financing of Special economic zone (SEZ) projects in India at par with commercial real estate, which drew criticism from Commerce & industry minister Kamal Nath, will be reviewed by the Indian government.

The Prime Minister’s office (PMO) has asked the issue should be handed over to the empowered group of ministers (eGoM) on SEZs to look into the matter. Read More »

HDFC Raises Home Loan Rates

Now, owing a dream home in India will be slightly tough as Housing Development loans Finance Corp (HDFC) has raised the interest rates on home loans for its existing and new home loan shoppers.

With effect from March 1, 2007, the floating rates have gone up by 75 basis points while interest rates for customers seeking fixed home loans have been increased by 100 basis points from 11 percent to 12 percent. Read More »

Parsvnath to Develop Film City in Chandigarh

Chandigarh, which is renowned for its rock garden, will now have another major hot-spot—a multimedia-cum film city centre, which will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 800 crore —it will not only attract tourists, but will also bring along the Bollywood, who is always on a look-out for new place to shoot.

The project, which will include a film studio, a multimedia park, a multimedia entertainment centre and a multimedia college and research centre, will be develop by Parsvnath Developers. Read More »

IRPPL to Set up Entertainment Parks in Noida, Rohini

Unitech, real estate firm, and International Amusement Ltd, widely known for their Appu Ghar project, have formed a joint venture to be known as International Recreation Parks Pvt Ltd (IRPPL) and will be coming up with two entertainment parks in Noida and Rohini.

The construction of these parks will cost the company approximately Rs. 1,600 crore. And to provide specific themes for these parks, the company has roped in Turner Inc’s Cartoon Network and Pogo. Read More »

Gurgaon Waking up to Specialty Malls

The old adage “The more the merrier” seems apt for the fast flourishing cyber city of Gurgaon that already has scores of monumental malls. Adding to its mall culture are coming specialty malls like wedding malls, festival city, boutique malls and the glittering gold souk.

Work on wedding mall is already under way whereas the construction work for two boutique malls and a festival city are expected to commence soon. Read More »

US Major Firms Plan to Invest in West Bengal

Two US-based companies, a real-estate firm, the Wire Group, and a pharmaceutical major, Johnson and Johnson, are planning to set up a research and development centre in Kolkata.

Wire Group is planning to develop a 500,000 square metre commercial complex in Salt Lake, just opposite the Wipro office. While, Johnson and Johnson is drawing plans to develop a clinical research and development hub in the city for clinical trials.

“The company is planning to invest $1 billion over the next two years in the country. Of this, $ 300 million will be in the form of equity and the rest will be in the form of debt” says Mark Fidelman, who is representing the Wire Group. Read More »

JP Morgan & Banks Expand Business

It’s a buying spree these days for business houses. JP Morgan and a handful of other banks have bought around 1.5 percent stake in Delhi-based real estate company, Emaar MGF, for a whopping $100 million.

According to sources, JP Morgan has invested around $50 million for the deal, which was singed in the month of November but was not made public. The remaining amount for the stake came from other investment bankers. Read More »

Small Property Developers Passing Sleepless Nights

Small Indian real estate developers are highly anxious these days. The real estate management bill, which the government is going to introduce in the ongoing Budget session, aims at putting a full stop to unethical practices that the Indian real estate is famous for.

Primarily, the bill asks to make it mandatory for neighborhood property dealers to get a license for practicing. The bill also restricts developers from issuing advertisements till the project gets cleared. Moreover, the dealers cannot accept money before the execution of the sale agreement. Read More »