Indian Realty Developers Seek Foreign Help

With inflation pushing up project costs and consumer forums penalising builders for delayed delivery of flats, many developers are now hiring the services of foreign project management consultancy companies and techno construction firms for faster implementation of projects. Some of these foreign companies include Australia’s Sterling Construction System, Meva global leaders in framework solutions known for constructing an entire floor in three days and large project management consultancy companies like Leighton of Australia and Turner of the US.

Omaxe Lines up $ 20 bln to Build Low Cost Homes

Realty firm Omaxe has lined up a $ 20 billion investment to develop 10 lakh affordable homes for low-income consumers. The company is planning to offer these housing units in a price range of Rs 3-15 lakh per flat.

Nitesh Estates plans to raise Rs 600 cr-
Bangalore-based Nitesh Estates is looking to raise close to Rs 600 crore for its upcoming projects as it seeks to expand its presence. The company will mop up these funds through the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) route. This will be the third time that this firm is tapping the private equity pool.

ICICI Bank offers low EMIs for Selected Home Loan Customers

ICICI Bank has offered to lower the Equated Monthly Installments (EMIs) for a large number of its borrowers by enhancing the tenure of their home loans. Borrowers with a good track record have been given this option. Borrowers also have the option to pay the EMI that they have been paying and not opt for a longer tenure.

» Bank of Baroda, UAE real estate firm sign MoU
Bank of Baroda has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai-based real estate company Dubai Properties for financing buyers of the latter’s products in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Bank of Baroda is the only Indian bank offering full-fledged banking services in the UAE.

»Dewan Housing Q4 net up by 12%
Dewan Housing Finance Corporation reported 11.78% rise in net profit to Rs 29.44 crore compared with Rs 13.51 crore during the corresponding period last year. The company’s income went up 45.4% to Rs 148.02 crore during January-March 2008 as against Rs 101.80 crore during the same period last year.

DLF plans tie-up with Thai retail group as Carrefour talks fail

Talks between the DLF Group and French retail major Carrefour for a joint retail operation in India have fallen through. The Indian real estate major has moved on and is now in advanced negotiations with the largest retail and real estate company of Thailand – The Central Group. The family-controlled Central Group owns and operates stores of every possible format and product category under different brand names similar to what Reliance Retail is trying to do in India.

Nitesh Estates to set up mall in Bangalore

Nitesh Estates, the real estate arm of the Bangalore based Nitesh Group, marked its foray into the booming retail space with the announcement of setting up a 1 million sq ft shopping mall in Bangalore. The mall, which would be the largest in South India, would come up on 5 acres at an investment of Rs 400 crore. The project would be ready by the end of 2009.

Global direct real estate investment hit record in ‘07

After a record year in 2007 for direct real estate investment globally, with volumes up 8% year on year to US$759 billion, Jones Lang LaSalle has commented on the outlook for 2008 in its latest Global Real Estate Capital report. The firm expects global investment market volumes for 2008 to be down over 30% on 2007. The Americas and European investment markets will certainly see a material decline in full year volumes and, although Asia may be more resilient, volumes will not achieve the heights of 2007.

MCD Demolition Team Goes to Central, west zones

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi extended its demolition drive to Central, West and Rohini zones. Most of the properties being demolished are ongoing constructions but there are also blacklisted properties (that are on the list of 18, 299 illegal properties which have already been marked for demolition). The civic agency is demolishing illegally constructed floors and other deviations all over the city.

Parsvnath to Increase Land Bank to 350 Million sq ft

Realty firm Parsvnath Developers plans to increase its land bank by almost 141 million sq ft to 350 million sq ft for Special Economic Zones developed by the end of current fiscal year. Besides this, the company has also decided to spend Rs 20,000 crore on developing its present area of 209.75 million sq ft within next three to five years.

Real Estate Firms Engage in Brand Building Exercise

Most real estate players in India have a negative image in the market. To regain a good image in front of people, the real estate companies have started a branding effort, which is moving beyond usual media preparation. They have company campaigns apart from project specific one’s and are gradually increasing and forcefully using the electronic mediums for brand building.

India’s Retail Realty Beckons Israeli Giants

Israeli mall giants, which own many prime retail-linked realty assets across the world, are buying into India’s big buck retail story. Tel Aviv-based mall giant Gazit Globe has tied up with one of the HDFC funds to pump in $150 million into developing assets, including supermarket anchored retail play. Another Israeli major, Big Shopping Group, has teamed up with Lehman Brothers Real Estate Private equity to set up ‘open malls’ in tier I and tier II cities.