Tag Archives: CEO

ASK group plans to fund in Indian Real Estate Projects

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Real estate fund house ASK Property Investment Advisors has said it is planning to fund to invest in Indian real estate projects.

The company has already committed $40 million (Rs 200 crore) out of its second domestic fund. It has formed a subsidiary in Singapore that will be raising this offshore fund. To be launched in July, the ASK Real Estate Special Opportunities Fund plans to invest in projects with a completion cycle of three-four years.

“We are a domestic fund and are constantly looking for opportunities in the domestic markets. Developers are constantly scouting for investments to buy land. We have so far deployed funds in ten investments,” Mr Amit Bhagat, Managing Director and CEO, ASK Property Investment Advisors, said.

The average investments will be to the tune of Rs 75-125 crore. The second fund will invest in mid-sized development projects in key cities such as Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Chennai. The ASK Group had raised its first domestic fund of $75 million in 2009. It was also targeted at residential segment. “We have committed 100 per cent of the first fund,” he added. Industry sources note that realty focussed funds pan-India are looking to rise over $5 billion from both domestic and offshore markets.

Realtors expect rise in property demand post RBI’s rate cut

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Realty firms on Tuesday hailed the RBI’s decision to cut short-term lending rate saying the move would reduce the cost of funds to home buyers as well as developers and boost property demand.

“Reserve Bank’s decision to cut the repo rate by 50 basis points and abolish pre-payment penalties is a good move for home buyers,” Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) Chairman Pradeep Jain said. In its annual credit policy, RBI has asked banks not to levy foreclosure charges or pre-payment penalties on home loans extended on a floating interest rate.

The country’s largest realty firm DLF also welcomed the decision, saying it would significantly improve the cash flows of developers. “It is positive news although very-very delayed. This will benefit home buyers besides the industry. It will improve cash flows tremendously,” DLF Group Executive Director Rajeev Talwar said.

Jain too said that liquidity for developers would improve and cost of funds would be cheaper. On demand, Credai Chairman said the move would definitely boost housing demand. However, property consultant DTZ India CEO Anshul Jain felt more measures need to be taken to have a positive impact on housing demand.

“It is a step in right direction although lot more measures need to be taken before we see any effect of the rate cut on the real estate sector,” said Jain of DTZ. The housing demand, which is very subdued currently, would only rise if the interest rates on home loans come down to below 10 percent, he added.

IOREC: Property Market In Mauritius a Profitable Investment.

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The sluggish global economy has not left the property sector unscathed, but the high-end estate market on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius is showing remarkable resilience.

Murray Adair, CEO of the Indian Ocean Real Estate Company (IOREC) who is developing several luxury resorts in Mauritius in partnership with Flacq United Estates Limited (FUEL), says while there had been a slow-down in the property market, sales transactions in upmarket resorts on the island remain buoyant.

Adair says this is particularly true for resorts developed under the Mauritian Government’s Integrated Resort Schemes (IRS) which aims to encourage foreign direct investment. He pointed out that more foreign ownership approved units were sold in 2011 than in the whole of 2009 and 2010 combined. Under the IRS, foreigners are allowed permanent residence in Mauritius when they invest $500 000 or more in these designated resorts and they keep this status for as long as they own the property.

“We find that the IRS is definitely encouraging investment on the island. For example, over 50% of the properties at Azuri, a luxury beachfront village to be built on the coast about 25 km from Port Louis on the north east coast, have been sold off-plan since it was launched in September 2011,” says Adair.

Adair says while the International Monetary Fund in January cut its 2012 growth forecast for Mauritius from 4.1% to 3.8%, the country remains a sought-after tourist and investment destination. He says the tourism sector contributes 15% to the GDP of Mauritius and remains the biggest foreign exchange earner for the island.

“The Government’s initiatives to further diversify the economy and encourage investments from the Far East, including China, Russia and India will further enhance the long-term growth potential of the island,” concludes Adair.

The John Marshall Law School will present “Real Estate Investing in India: Opportunities and Challenges” at an event.

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The Centre for Real Estate Law at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago will present the lecture “Real Estate Investing in India: Opportunities and Challenges” on April 4, 2012.

Risks and benefits that come with purchasing real estate in India is the topic of an April 4, 2012, lecture at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago. Guests Shahrookh Cambata, Scott Eisenberg and Marc J. Strauss will speak at the event.

The free program, from 8:30 to 11 a.m., looks at the interest in real estate in India. Investments have grown as the expanding real estate markets in the U.S. and Western Europe have caused investors to consider developing markets for better opportunities. Speakers for “Real Estate Investing in India: Opportunities and Challenges” will discuss the risks and benefits of investing in India. Real Estate sales there have thrived since 2005 because the Indian government strengthened its protection of foreign ownership.

 

The lecture will feature three experts: Shahrookh Cambata, managing member and CEO of Greaves Travel; Scott Eisenberg, attorney and real estate entrepreneur for Lakeshore Investment Development; and Marc J. Strauss, general counsel for First Rockford Group.

 

Registrations are requested and are being accepted at http://www.events.jmls.edu/re-india. Attorneys can earn two hours of CLE for this program.

Builders say that Pranab Mukherjee has ignored ground realty in the Union Budget 2012-13.

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With predicting an escalation in property prices, top players in the realty sector said they had been ignored by the finance minister.

Chief of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI), Lalit Kumar Jain, said the announcement on external commercial borrowings (ECB) for affordable housing was a minor respite but still meaningless. Jain, who is also chairman and managing director of Kumar Urban Development Ltd, added, “We contribute 6.5% to the GDP and expected a big boost from the budget for affordable housing through special schemes, an interest subvention of 5-7 % for LIG (low income group) and EWS (economically weaker section) housing and promotion of rental housing through tax exemption.”

Jain also pointed out that the interest subsidy on home loans was too low. The Budget has extended the scheme of interest subvention of 1% on housing loan up to Rs 15 lakh where the cost of the house does not exceed Rs 25 lakh for another year.

In addition, Gaurav Gupta, director, Omkar Realtors & Developers, lamented that the realty sector had got nothing to boost market and customer sentiments. “There are no indications of this sector being granted the status of an industry, which it much deserves. On the contrary, the increase in service tax will push up realty prices as the additional cost will be passed on to the buyers.”

Tata Housing MD and CEO Brotin Banerjee added, “Initiatives to make affordable housing available to a larger section of the society have only been met partially.”

There were some who welcomed the proposals. Sachin Sandhir, MD, RICS South Asia felt it “exceeded expectations” given the pressures on the fiscal situation.

Relief in Patwari Village, Admin Begins Paying

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Greater Noida: The out of court agreement reached between a 15-member committee of Patwari and the officials are super quick in making payment of revised land rates. Officials on Tuesday distributed cheques among 24 farmers. Another 14 farmers have signed the draft agreement. The CEO Rama Raman of GNIDA confirmed the payment.

If the Patwari pact stands, it will save 20,000 under constructed houses in the village. Generally, authority takes months to pay compensations but in it’s desperation this time the authority is issuing cheques in hurry. GNIDA will give the increased cash compensation to only those farmers who agree to the deal through affidavits, stating they will withdraw petitions and will never challenge the deal in court. The authority, three years ago acquired 589 hectares of land in Patwari at Rs 850 per sq m. About 15% of farmers have not accepted the compensation. Now, the compensation has been hiked to Rs 1400 per sq m. Of Rs 550 hiked, Rs 290 will be borne by the builders.

Talks Fails, GNIDA CEO faces ‘Hostile’ Crowd.

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Greater Noida: 11 days left for the state government to work out an out of court settlement with Noida Extension farmers, the GNIDA has rushed talks but without success. The discussion between authority and the farmers of Patwari village failed on the issue of compensation, because back to back court orders quashing forcible land acquisition. The fate of 1 lakh houses in Noida Extension hangs in the balance.

The CEO of GNIDA Rama Raman, faced a hostile crowd of farmers, who said if the authority could not hike the compensation then there is no point of holding this discussion. They also accused the authority of trying dividing farmers by giving rehabilitations and other benefits to selected farmers, to weaken the movement against land acquisition.

Farmer leader said the authority is trying to play divide and rule policy by keeping land of some influential farmers. He told CEO, no out of court settlement could be reached out without hiking the compensation. The CEO said 4 bighas of land belonging to the village head would be regularized and not termed as encroachment.

The discussion between the authority and the Patwari village’s farmers failed on the issue of compensation. The authority wants to acquire the land and pay according to new acquisition and rehabilitation policy which allows the authority to give farmers bigger developed land plots, Rs 200 more per sqm as cash compensation, besides annuity payouts.

LIC Housing to Concentrate on Senior Citizen Homes Business

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LIC Housing Finance focuses to have a all India-presence for its senior citizens homes business as the rise in demand from senior citizens provokes the company to scale-up presence in other cities across the country. The 4th largest mortgage lender has finished two projects, one in Bangalore and the other in Bhubaneswar, They believe this “futuristic idea” will lead to the home finance company eventually spinning off its care home business into a listed body as early as 2014.

“We expect to make the care homes business a fully listed body in coming three to five years,” CEO of LIC Housing finance said. LIC H.F., promoted by the country’s largest insurer, the LIC of India, is looking for an existence in up to 07 cities, which it says are more “friendly to the senior citizens” and also can get land at discounted rates. The company lately finished a 98-unit project and a bigger 200-unit project in Bangalore and Bhubaneswar respectivly.

Presently the organisation is in the process of acquiring land in Jaipur, Haridwar and Goa. “More cities such as Nagpur and Pune which have historically been friendly to the retired people will be looked at.” India has 65 % of its people aged between 15 and 64 years, so the business model might find many takers. Retirement homes are built in a community format with modern amenities including gymnasium & club houses, music rooms and auditoriums. These projects also come with a house-help which is offered by the developers or owners themselves.