The market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that the real estate arm of the Sahara group of companies had no right to mobilise Rs.27,000 crore from 30 million investors through debentures without complying with the regulatory regime.
Indian real estate companies, which borrowed heavily during the peak of the economic cycle and rosy business forecast, are now caught in the vortex of piling debt post-slowdown. Most of the realtors who went on a land bank acquisition with borrowed money are struggling to repay even the interest and banks look reluctant to restructure the debt any more.
Over the last year, there has been an unequivocal crystallization of Indian cities that continue to attract serious investment into real estate. This is directly correlated to the economic dynamics now working in the country. If India is to achieve even a conservative GDP growth of 6% per year, it emerges that only three cities – Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore – have the potential to deliver. The reason for this is that close to 2/3rd of the overall development of office space in the country is now taking place in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.
The new concept of integrated townships is now more about a single developer taking over a large tract of land. There are benefits too. “The infrastructure is under the developers’ control,” explains Anuj Puri, Chairman and Country Head, JLLI, adding that the developer can plan and use the FSI better, and long-term maintenance is a possibility.
Cushman & Wakefield has appointed Sanjay Dutt as Executive Managing Director, South Asia, Cushman & Wakefield.
In this new position, Sanjay will be responsible for leading Cushman & Wakefield’s India operations along with spearheading the growth strategy for other South Asian markets including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. Sanjay’s key focus would be to manage and augment Cushman & Wakefield’s highly successful India operations and to enhance the firm’s service delivery capabilities to clients.
Jones Lang LaSalle’s markets experts have shared their expectations for the office leasing markets in Asia Pacific in the second quarter of 2012. In those markets that were experiencing office rental declines in previous quarters, the Markets teams are anticipating a slowdown in the rate of decline, for example a three to four percent fall in Grade A office rents this quarter in Hong Kong compared to an actual 6.3 percent decline in the first quarter.
DLF has said its March quarter consolidated net profit fell 39 per cent on higher interest outgo and it had received an additional tax demand of Rs 457.4 crore from the Income Tax (I-T) Department for the 2009-10 assessment year (AY).
Omaxe has reported a more than two-fold jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 23.73 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 as against Rs 11.67 crore in the year-ago period.
The income from operations increased by six per cent to Rs 603.58 crore in the fourth quarter of 2011-12 as compared with Rs 568.60 crore in the corresponding period of previous year.
Integrated townships can reduce the burden on infrastructure and provide a fulfilling lifestyle for buyers, at a much reduced cost all round. Gulam Zia, National Director – Research & Advisory Services, Knight Frank India points out, “Of late, the planning authorities and Government bodies have realised the importance of integrated townships and are giving special concessions for creation of such townships.
What goes into the strategic planning of an integrated township to make it a case study in flagship project? One such integrated township in Mumbai is Kohinoor City at Kurla Vidyavihar. Atul Modak, Head of Kohinoor City says, “What we considered was the need to provide plenty of recreational space and all ultra-modern amenities. It truly had to be a ‘city’ where all their needs and luxuries could be met.