The department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) and the Reserve Bank will shortly meet to evaluate the situation arising out of Lehman’s collapse, as the US giant has $500-million investment in Indian real estate projects.
Foreign investment norms for real estate do not allow repatriation of funds within three years of investment. The RBI-DIPP meeting will discuss a mechanism to deal with cases like Lehman, when foreign investors in real estate go bust. One of the key questions is what happens to the failed investor’s assets, which are bound by certain lock-in periods.
Lehman has its real estate assets spread across the country.