Latest Property News on 'Kolkata'

Abus to Enter into India’s Realty and Hospitality Sector

Abus Security Center, a wholly owned subsidiary of Abus Group of Germany plans to tap India’s booming realty and hospitality sectors. The mechanical and electronic security technology company has already tied up with Bengal Peerless Housing Development Company and Calcutta Medical and Research Institute (CMRI) for providing security solutions, said Philippe Bremicker, managing director, Abus Security Centre.

“The complete security solutions market in Germany alone is estimated to be Euro 2.6 billion. Given India’s population, particularly the size of its middle class, we expect this market in India to be much larger,” he said. Read More »

Ambuja to Build City Center Mall at Siliguri

Buoyant over the success of its multi-utility commercial property projects City Centre-I (at Salt Lake) and City Centre-II (at Rajarhat), Ambuja Realty has now come up with its third City Centre, this time round at Siliguri, on the foothills of the picturesque of Darjeeling district. More importantly, it has lined up three more City Centres — all beyond Kolkata and in fact two of them are outside West Bengal.

Harshavardhan Neotia, chairman, Ambuja Realty, said that while City Centre at Siliguri has come up with a capital outlay of Rs 280 crore, the three other City Centres at Haldia, Raipur and Patna would involve an investment of close to Rs 550 crore. Patna City Centre will be ready by the end of the current year, Raipur City Centre will be ready by December 2011 and City Centre Haldia will be up and running by 2012, he said.
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IFC in Discussion with Real Estate Developers to Create Large Affordable Housing Projects

The International Finance Corporation is in talks with several real estate developers to create large affordable housing projects in India. “IFC has been talking with everybody; there have been discussions with the Tatas and with other corporate groups on this,” said Mr Paolo Martelli, Director, South Asia, IFC. “Everybody” includes both real estate developers and housing finance companies, he said.

“We are working on this and we hope one of these projects will be developed in the next six months,” he said. If the estimated housing deficit in India is 25 million units, then such a large requirement cannot be tackled completely from a real estate point of view, according to Mr Martelli. IFC can help the Indian sector with advice on how affordable housing has been tackled in other countries such as Mexico where “literally, they are building cities at a time, 15,000 to 20,000 homes, costing between $7,000 to $15,000”. (The Corporation is also in talks with home builder Homex in Mexico for such projects here in India.) Read More »

Zuri Group Looking at an Investment of Rs 1,200 crore to Expand its Presence in Hotel Industry

Zuri Group Global, the multinational conglomerate, has chalked out a multi-pronged expansion approach for its hotel chain, Zuri Hotels and Resorts, in India and abroad over the next five years. The company is looking at an investment of Rs 1,200 crore in the hospitality sector to set up its own brands and take up management contracts as part of its strategy to increase the number of wholly-owned properties.

The management contract model will allow Zuri to rapidly build a presence in more cities around the world, Priti Chand, assistant vice-president, PR and Corporate Communications, said. Chand said the company intends to set up at least 10-15 projects under the management contract models in cities, such as Hyderabad, Chennai, Mysore, Kochi, while the owned projects will be coming up at Bangalore, Nairobi and in West Asia in the next two years. The company is in advanced stage of discussions with various private owners for management of these hotels, she added. Read More »

Property Oversupply can Lead to another Real Estate Bubble

With India’s real estate market brimming with new launches, investors need to exercise caution while choosing projects. Leading private equity investor Gaurav Dalmia , founder chairman of realty-focussed Landmark Holdings that is investing $225 million in specific projects, feels speculative buying can act as a downtrend. In an interview Dalmia tells why he feels some pockets of real estate market may tumble in the coming months.

Developers continue with new projects even as prices remain high. Do you see demand taking a dip? Read More »

Mid-Cap Real Estate Firms Expected to Post Mixed Trend in June quarter

Mid-cap real estate firms are expected to post a mixed trend as spiraling prices hit affordability and new launches tapered in the April-June quarter. A Reuters’ poll of brokerages estimates Anant Raj Industries to post a 47.79 percent fall in net profit, Housing Development and Infrastructure a 49.26 percent rise and IndiaBulls Real Estate a 114.44 percent rise.

“There would be a year-on-year growth, because of the low base (of previous year). Secondly, margins will go down as product mix has changed, with lot of sales happening in mid-income sector, where margins are lower…,” Param Desai, analyst at Angel Broking, told Reuters. Read More »

Real Estate Regulation Act can Increase Housing Prices by Rs 300 per sq ft- CREDAI

The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India has expressed reservations about the proposed Model Real Estate (Regulation of Development) Act in its present form, saying it could lead to an escalation of prices of housing stock in the country by Rs 300 per sq ft. The bill would be placed before Parliament soon.

Terming it a draconian bill aimed at strangulating developers alone, CREDAI vice-president Prakash Challa told reporters on Tuesday, “We are not opposed to having a legislation to regulate the real estate sector. But the proposed legislation, in its present form, would be detrimental for the industry. If the cost of projects go up, the sufferers will be the end customers. Real estate is already an overly regulated sector. The best way to make housing affordable to all is to liberalise the sector by introducing a single window clearance system for projects, clubbed with a rationalized tax system. The very concept of affordable housing will be a failure if cost escalates by roughly Rs 300 per sq ft on account of introduction of the regulatory bill.” Read More »

DLF to Buy Property Arm of Dubai World

DLF is buying out the property arm of Dubai World, its foreign partner in the 50:50 joint venture to make Bidadi Knowledge City. A wholly-owned arm of DLF will buy out the stake owned by Limitless Group, which is a part of Dubai World, for around Rs 200 crore, the Economic Times reported, citing sources with direct knowledge of the transaction.

DLF will buy the 50 per cent held by two Limitless Group entities for a price less than the net worth of the shares, as per the deal. The discount would amount to Rs 10 crore for the entire block of shares held by Limitless. Dubai World is the investment vehicle of the Dubai government. Read More »

CREDAI Expresses Concern over Proposed Real Estate Regulation Bill

In the backdrop of the Ministry for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, GoI planning to introduce major provisions in the proposed Model Real Estate (Regulation of Development) Act, CREDAI had submitted a paper to the Ministry highlighting those provisions which would change the price dynamics in the real estate sector in India.

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Shriram Group Likely to take over Cash-Strapped Front-End Retail Company of Vishal Retail Ltd

Ram Chandra AgarwalThe Chennai-based Shriram Group is likely to take over the cash-strapped front-end retail company of Vishal Retail Ltd (VRL), after leading private equity investor Texas Pacific Group (TPG) takes charge of its wholesale division. This will be subject to approval from all stakeholders and regulators.

Three persons involved in the transaction said an associate company of Shriram Trust was likely to be the vehicle for this initiative. Shriram Trust owns 100 per cent of Shriram Capital, the group’s holding company. It will also mark entry of the Shriram Group in multi-brand retailing. Shriram Group will pump in the initial Rs 50 crore and invest more as and when the capex requirement arises. The retail company will enter into different lease agreements to consolidate and expand the business. Delhi-based Vishal Retail, under financial stress for one-and-a-half years, had approached its lenders to restructure its Rs 740 crore loans. Read More »