BNP Paribas raises ratings on real estate

BNP Paribas has raised its ratings on Indian real estate developers, citing a discounted value and improving outlook.

BNP said it upgraded DLF to “hold” from “reduce” based on an improving office outlook in its core markets.It also raised Unitech and Housing Development & Infrastructure to “buy” from “hold.”

The brokerage said Unitech’s core business was available at a discount to book value, even after the telecom business write-off, which suggested that most of the negatives were priced in. It raised HDIL on the likelihood of more visible cash flows.