News

More retirees opt for 'adventure tourism' in Asia

Sarah Kendell — 21/03/2011 10:14:00

A trip around Europe, a cruise through the Caribbean - these luxury, aspirational destinations used to be the staple of retirement dreams for most of the middle class in the English speaking world. Now, with more money and time to spare and having often gotten these more traditional destinations out of the way earlier on in life, retirees are venturing further afield - and the tourism industries of developing Asian nations like India, Thailand and Vietnam are benefiting.

With interesting cultural offerings, good climate and cheap living costs, these destinations have always proved popular with backpackers, and as a result many adventure tour companies have sprung up to offer package deals, particularly in the early noughties as the trend of the 'gap year' took hold. But as one London-based tour operator told Relax News, it's the older generation who are now providing the base of the demand.

"I started my company to take young professionals abroad for adventurous holidays, but then realised I was getting calls from their parents", says Original Travel's Tom Barber, whose company runs expeditions in India, Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand. "People jokingly call them SKIers, which stands for Spending the Kids' Inheritance."

In 2009 alone, over 100,000 British citizens between 55 and 64 travelled to India, while 51,000 went to China. Whilst not usually eligible to stay at youth hostels, but often seeking a more genuine experience than a cloistered five-star hotel, the influx of retiree tourists to Asia has created a new demand for niche holiday accomodation. "Older people are very discerning about seeking out special experiences, and combining those with quality accomodation and food", said Jamshyd Sethna of tour company Lakhti Himalaya, which provides guests with luxury accomodation at isolated lodges in India's famous mountain range.

Sean Tipton of the Association of British Travel Agents agreed that the tide was turning amongst mature travellers in favour of developing Asian nations. "Most people aged 55 and over would have been looking at a coach trip around Europe 30 years ago", said Tipton. "We have seen fundamental change since then, with people who have retired but refuse to be pigeonholed."

India launches luxury rail travel

Catherine Deshayes — 26/03/2010 08:41:00

India has gone all out and launched its most luxurious and expensive train service ever, in a bid to entice high-end foreign rail enthusiasts prepared to pay the whopping £535 a night price tag...

Luxury rail travel isn't the first thing that springs to mind when most travelers think of India. The country's enormous railway system carries 18.5 million passengers every day and most of those travelling are less worried about luxury fixtures and fittings and more worried about getting from A to B.

But this brand new railway, called the Maharajas Express, looks set to change all that - the new service, which began its maiden journey from Kolkata to New Delhi earlier this week, aims to bring luxury to the rail network.

The specially built new train, which has been funded by state-run Indian railways and Indian travel group Cox & Kings, accommodates a mere 84 lucky passengers, has suites with private bathrooms and plasma TVs, two restaurants serving Indian and Western food and an observation lounge. Each of the 23 carriages have been fitted with air conditioning and carpet.

Promoter of the railway Thomas Thottathil said, "You get treated like a king."

But the best thing about the Maharajas Express is that it will travel throughout India, whereas the other rail services in the country are restricted to individual states.

The new Express joins a fleet of other luxury trains plying India's railway network, including the Deccan Odyssey in western Maharashtra, the Palace on Wheels in Rajasthan and the Golden Chariot in southern Karnataka.

Check out homes for sale all across India at http://india.themovechannel.com/

Picture of old Indian trains in Ooty, India by mkarstad

Make or break?

Catherine Deshayes — 08/09/2009 12:53:00

If your relationship is ailing and you are planning to take a last ditch holiday in order to try and save it, why not check out a new scheme created by an India - based tour operator, which advocates ‘divorce tourism packages,' aimed at bringing back together couples who have grown apart...

The catch? A relationship counselor will be accompanying you on your trip.

KV Tours and Travels, based in Mumbai, has launched the holiday packages in part due to the rising divorce rates in India, which is especially high in the big cities.

Whilst the country has traditionally enjoyed one of the lowest divorce rates in the world, with just one in 100 failing, compared to a whopping one in two in America, that rate is on the rise.

Divorce is now becoming a common blight in large cities such as Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi, partly because of improving education and freedom for women.

Different holiday packages are available, from week-long stays in mountain resorts costing around £400 to £500, to more expensive foreign destinations.

Family members are being encouraged to pay for these trips as it is thought the couples themselves may not be so keen on the idea. (!)

The new scheme is also part of a drive to boost India's ailing tourism industry, which has been blighted by the effects of the global economic crisis, with visitor numbers falling dramatically.

The brainchild behind the divorce holidays, Chief Executive of KV Tours and Travels Vijesh Thakker, thinks creativity is the key to attracting more visitors.

"We're not destiny changers, but we want couples to treat these trips like a second honeymoon," he added.

Picture by babasteve

Regulatory body for India

Catherine Deshayes — 11/08/2009 12:55:00

Alongside an improved forecast for the future of the Indian property market, there are further problems anticipated as sales start to grow outside the framework of a regulatory body - so the property industry is calling for an efficient and focused national regulatory body to make the sector more transparent and to make it easier to solve problems and deal with complaints...

The property market in India has traditionally been unorganized and fragmented. Whilst the real estate market still lacks transparency and liquidity compared to more mature markets, things are improving and the potential regulatory body should go a long way to boosting the property sector.

Whilst the improvement in the predictions for the health of the 2009 market is obviously a good sign, in line with the increasing number of sales comes an increasing number of chances that something could go wrong.

Currently, India has no real estate regulator and, in order to push the sector to the next level, it is felt that this is something that needs to be introduced as soon as possible.

Assocham, the industry body, has said, "There is a need for an efficient and focused regulatory body to overlook the functioning of the real estate sector in order to insure the future development of the industry and safeguard consumer interests in line with international benchmarks."

"A real estate regulator would ensure that the consumer grievances against developers, development authorities, real estate agents and financial institutions are addressed without any delay," it added.

Indian property industry bods are hoping that the introduction of the new body will encourage more international property investors into the market, as it will increase their confidence in the transparency of transactions. Currently, there is little or no protection for buyers against unscrupulous developers in the form of full escrow account facilities.

Picture by wili_hybrid

The last days of the Taj?

Catherine Deshayes — 05/08/2009 13:34:00

Many believe the Taj Mahal in India to be the world's most romantic building and it is certainly India's biggest tourist attraction - but now, in a bid to attract even more tourists to the landmark, controversial plans are afoot to surround it with a suspension bridge, cable cars, ropewalks and a ferris wheel...

The Taj Mahal enticed more than three million tourists last year but Government and tourism officials in the state of Uttar Pradesh are keen to send that figure soaring and have come up with a rather, erm, colourful way in which to do so.

Personally I think it will have the opposite effect and I'm not alone - the plan, which would see the historic landmark surrounded by a ferris wheel and cable cars - has been branded as ‘the most insensitive plan imaginable' by its many critics.

Uttar Pradesh? Utter nonsense more like.

The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, Mumtaz, who died in childbirth. The building's white marble minarets, dome, jewel-inlaid mosaics and classical Persian garden took thousands of craftsmen from 1632 to 1652 to complete.

Those behind the plan said that the new additions would highlight the building but they can only go ahead once approval has been gained from the Supreme Court and the Architectural Survey of India.

The building is protected from surrounding development by a 500-metre conservation zone. The Agra Development Authority said the new constructions would be at a distance of 800 metres.

O. P. Jain, of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, said he hoped the project would be stopped. "Tourism is not everything.

"The people who come to see the Taj are not the kind of people who like to go by ropeway or see it in front of a Ferris wheel," he added.

Picture by photoAtlas

Punitive new tax to hammer second home owners in Goa

admin — 16/11/2011 05:13:00

Second home investors in Goa are about to be hammered by punitive new tax system that could add as much as $10,000 the annual cost of owning a home there.

In a measure which it says has been designed to “rationalise” real estate prices in the southern Indian resorts of Goa, the local state government has decided to levy a hefty new occupancy tax on homes that have been purchased by non-Goans and left unoccupied.

The politicians are definitely targeting holiday homes owned by wealthy Indians from cities like Delhi. Foreigners are officially barred from buying property or land in India but many overseas property investors get around the rules by using local proxies to buy on their behalf.

"The idea is to impose tax of 200,000 to 500,000 rupees ($4,000 to $10,000 approx) per annum," chief minister Digambar Kamat told OPP this week. And “the tax would be levied with retrospective effect."

Source: OPP.org.uk

New property bill in India to be made public next week

admin — 10/11/2011 07:50:00

Details of a new bill to protect property buyers in India from unscrupulous developers are expected to be made available next week.

The draft Real Estate Regulation and Development Bill 2011, is to be published by the government to allow stakeholders to comment on the new rules and could be presented to parliament before the end of the year.

The bill aims to make the nation’s emerging real estate market more transparent and also create a new regulators authority to oversee the industry although it is not yet clear what powers the new authority might have.

It is expected that the bill will compel developers to make public disclosures related to land title, project completion date and other relevant details.

Source: PropertyWire.com

India faces sales crisis as buys slump

admin — 07/11/2011 07:56:00

India’s major cities are facing a sales crisis after CB Richard Ellis reported a 10-15 per cent drop in residential purchases across major urban areas in the country due to rising home loan rates.

However, developers are still not reducing prices according to the firm’s South Asia director Anshuman Magazine.

"Sales volume of residential apartments have come down especially in Mumbai and Delhi in the range of 10-15 per cent mainly because of rising interest rates," he said.

Source: OPP

Slumdog star Ali lands new home after blaze

admin — 27/10/2011 06:04:00

Slumdog Millionaire star Rubina Ali is moving into a new apartment, seven months after her family home was burned down in Mumbai, India.

The actress was forced to flee the Garib Nagar slum as the blaze, which left 21 people injured and 2,000 homeless, broke out in March. She lost all the awards and newspaper clippings she had saved from her role in the Danny Boyle movie, but she has reason to smile again after the director's Jai Ho Trust found a new property in Mumbai for her family.

Ali tells Britain's The Sun, "I am very happy with the developments. Ever since the movie was released, it has been my dream to have my own house in Mumbai. I even have my own bedroom."

The 13 year old and her relatives will move into the property later this month.

Source: IMDb.com

India's 21.3% surge makes it world's second-fastest growing housing market

admin — 19/10/2011 07:56:00

India now has the second-fastest growing residential property prices in the world. Knight Frank’s latest global housing price index shows that during year to Q1 2011, house prices in India surged by 21.3%.

The international agent monitors 50 key housing markets around the world and the new index ranks India as the second most successful housing market.

Local statistics agree. According to the National Housing Bank, prices were up by 22.64% in New Delhi in the second quarter of 2011 as low interest rates, urbanisation and a booming economy al combine to drive the economy into fast-forward.

The Indian government has recently increased interest rates in an attempt to stabilise the price boom and economists argue that rising inflation will also slow the growth curve.

Source: OPP.org.uk

Record-low FDI in Indian property set for further decline

admin — 12/10/2011 07:46:00

Foreign investment in India’s residential property sector is set to decline further after a new report revealed it was at its lowest level for four years, according to industry experts.

FICCI and Ernst & Young’s recent industry report showed that foreign direct investment in India’s real estate sector was at $1.6 billion in 2010-11, compared to $4.1 billion in 2009-10, $3.8 billion in 2008-09 and $3.1 billion in 2007-08.

And industry professionals say that the global financial uncertainty will mean no improvement is on the horizon.

R R Singh, director general of the National Real Estate Development Council (Nardeco), said: “Foreign investment inflow in the Indian real estate sector will only deteriorate if the economic problems in Europe and the US persist longer.”

Source: OPP.org.uk

India faces 1.3 million housing shortfall

admin — 11/10/2011 08:26:00

India faces a housing shortfall of 1.3 million over the next five years according a report from a property consultancy and a group of international real estate investors.

Cushman & Wakefield and Global Real Estate Institute’s annual “Embracing Change – Scripting the future of Indian Real Estate” report says that demand for residential property units in the seven major cities (NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune and Kolkata) for the next half-decade would reach 2.3 million…however, the supply is only expected to be 1 million.

Total domestic demand in the time frame is expected to reach 3.94 million housing units, with the mid-range housing segment expecting to drive this.

"The majority of the developers in the top seven cities are concentrating on this segment, which would help reduce the supply-demand gap," the report said.

Source: OPP.org.uk

Video: Mumbai property developers slow while Bangalore and Delhi cut real estate prices

admin — 07/10/2011 04:05:00

Indian’s and NRi’s investing in property in India this Diwali face a strange scenario.

Mumbai property developers are slow to launch more projects while Bangalore and Delhi developers are cutting some real estate prices.

The trend of lower launches is truer in Mumbai than other cities. Unitech, Godrej Properties, JP Infra and Sobha Developers, for example, have launched multiple projects in cities other than Mumbai in the past few weeks.

In Mumbai and its suburbs, there isn’t much talk of new launches barring a couple from firms like Rustomjee, Pallonji, Lodha and Bombay Dyeing.

It’s not just about permits. A lukewarm demand has developers treading with caution. There is no indication just yet that home prices will come down. However, experts say there are certain hidden discounts that developers are offering.

Watch the full video report on TheMoveChannel.tv:

http://www.themovechannel.tv/2011/10/mumbai-property-developers-slow-while-bangalore-and-delhi-cut-real-estate-prices/

India market to struggle as foreign investment plummets, says Raheja

admin — 05/10/2011 07:52:00

India’s property market faces a bumpy fall to earth as foreign investment in the real estate sector dips, according to a leading developer.

A new Ficci report revealed that foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indian property has now dipped to its lowest level in four years.

Navin Raheja, chairman of and managing director of Raheja Group and chairman of Assocham, said: "In the present scenario, foreign investors value the property at cost and not the fair market value and there is substantial discounting while deciding the valuation of the transaction.”

As reported previously in OPP, India is already facing a housing shortfall in the coming years.

Source: OPP.org.uk

Housing prices firm up across Indian cities

admin — 05/09/2011 10:31:00

House prices have displayed a rising trend in 12 Indian cities in the April-June quarter with Bhopal posting the highest gains, a survey by the National Housing Bank (NHB) has shown.

Experts say the demand for property in major cities across the country had dipped after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised interest rates 11 times since March 2010 to tame inflation. The sharp increase in borrowing costs had kept buyers on the sidelines. But the NHB Residex which tracks housing prices in 15 cities shows prices are firming up compared to the January-March quarter. Banks have raised their lending rates sharply in the past few months. Several banks have witnessed a moderation in the demand for home loans as high interest rates hit sentiment.

Bhopal leads the pack with a gain of 34.13% followed by Faridabad which has witnessed an increase of 33.33%. Housing prices in Kochi have risen 24.42%, Surat 16.41%, Delhi 16.67%, Chennai 13.76%, Hyderabad 9.6%), Bengaluru 4.5%. The financial capital Mumbai has shown an increase of only 3.4% followed by Ahmedabad 2.4%, Lucknow 1.9% and Pune 1.35%.

Source: Times of India

India's Tata to offer $720 house

admin — 21/07/2011 07:24:00

The world's cheapest car is manufactured by the Tata Group. So is the cheapest water filter. Now the Indian company is setting its sights on the housing market with a $720 flatpack home that can be constructed in a week.

The basic flatpack model is 215 square feet, consists of coconut fiber or jute walls and interiors, and has a life expectancy of just 20 years. Tata plans to offer a prefab kit containing windows, roofs, doors, and more to customers.

With such a short life span, Tata's flatpack isn't ideal for, say, city developments. Instead, Tata plans to sell to private buyers who have plots of land as well as to state governments, who could offer up the homes to India's homeless and poor. Tata also plans to market a larger version with rooftop solar panels and a veranda that may be more attractive to certain buyers.

Tata is currently testing the home in West Bengal. It should be available commercially in India in the next six to eight months, according to the Independent. As for those of us outside of India who could still benefit from an ultra-cheap home,the $300 House Project provides plenty of inspiration for DIY endeavors.

Source: MSN.com

Europe homes for aspiring Indians

admin — 27/06/2011 11:40:00

European countries like Spain, Greece and Italy are among the latest property buying destinations for Indians in the holiday home segment after prices have crashed there, according to industry analysts and consultants. Real estate assets in exotic locales around the world are often packaged and marketed as “holiday homes”.

Even as Indians are restricted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ceiling while investing in overseas property, their numbers have risen in the recent past in buying a home away from home. RBI has capped the overseas property investment at $200,000 per person per year.

No concrete data is available to quantify the size of the market as far as Indians going abroad to buy property is concerned, said Anshul Jain, CEO (India), DTZ, an international real estate adviser headquartered in London. Jain, however, said the number of Indians investing in property abroad or buying holiday homes overseas has gone up substantially in the recent months.

Spain and Greece, which continue to be in the grip of the economic slowdown, have seen 40 to 50 per cent decline in holiday home prices from their peak level, according to Jain. One can acquire a holiday home in these European destinations at ¤250,000-300,000, estimates suggest.

Source: Business Standard

GFH seals partnership with Indian developer

admin — 16/06/2011 06:15:00

Gulf Finance House (GFH), an Islamic investment bank based in Bahrain, has signed a major partnership deal with India-based Wadhwa Group to develop a strategic zone in Mumbai.

The agreement will see GFH and the leading Indian real estate group jointly develop core infrastructure of the Bank’s Energy City Navi Mumbai (ECNM) and Mumbai IT & Telecom City (MITTIC) (together termed as the Mumbai Economic Development Zone), and also secure a successful exit for investors.

Wadhwa said following the infrastructure development the duo will together develop integrated homes, affordable housing, hotels and malls on the two sites, which hold a strategic location on the outskirts of Mumbai.

The deal comes following GFH’s recent announcement of returning back to profitability in the first quarter of 2011 with a net profit of $11.9 million for the quarter.

Source: TradeArabia.com

Indian buyers snapping up US investments

admin — 24/05/2011 06:25:00

India-born American realtor Jaswant Lalwani hasn't been this busy since the housing crisis in the US in 2008. "I have closed 10 deals with Indian buyers in the last three months. And I am working on another 30," he says. The Manhattan-based realtor deals with all kinds of buyers, but of late, he has got more business from Indian clients. ( Latest news on NRIs )

Rohit Prakash, based in Austin, Texas , has for long been doing brisk business helping Americans and foreigners buy and sell property in the capital of one of America's biggest states.

Recently, he set up American Full House to cater to Indians looking to buy homes in locations that have seen a huge price drop. An Indian buyer who contacted him sometime ago is close to doing two deals in a suburb of Los Angeles at $82,000 and $85,000 each for a three-bedroom condominium. At the peak of the housing boom, these properties were selling at close to $250,000.

Flush with cash and keen to diversify their portfolio, Indians are busy snapping up property in the US. Buyers include rich families whose children are either working or studying there, and rich individuals in India looking for good returns. "These individuals have a minimum net worth of $1 million and are looking for properties in the $1-10 million price range," says Lalwani of Corcoran Real Estate.

Source: The Economic Times

BRIC countries to overtake the US economy by 2015

admin — 11/04/2011 12:33:00

Estimated on the basis of current market exchange rates, the BRIC grouping would make up about 22 % of the world economy by then, said the Annual Report on BRICS' Social-Economic Development (2011), a blue book released this week by the Social Sciences Academic Press of China.

BRIC formally became BRICS this year with the admission of South Africa into its fold. This year's BRICS summit is scheduled to be held in China's Sanya resort next week, April 13-14.

The report predicted that the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, Indian, China and South Africa) countries would have a stable and fairly rapid growth momentum in the next 15 years due to a favourable external environment brought on by the steady growth in major developed economies.

Lin Yueqin, the book's executive editor, noted that the purpose of the study was to reveal the underlying rules of development in emerging economies and the tendencies of global development and governance, Xinhua news agency reported Friday.

Source: MercoPress

Dubai Property Market attracts Indian Investors

admin — 08/04/2011 06:27:00

A growing number of investors from India are showing interest in Dubai as they look to capitalise on 60 per cent savings per square foot in the Dubai property market, a Dubai-based real estate company has said.

DAMAC Properties said in addition to the price disparity, Dubai’s property market is becoming increasingly attractive to foreign investors due to the implementation of a raft of new regulations, such as the new Strata law, which favours home owners.

“As these new tougher and more stringent regulations take hold, Indian investors are looking to take advantage of the plethora of investment opportunities that exist within the emirate’s real estate market,” it said in a statement.

At an average price per square foot of USD 264 in Dubai, according to Colliers International, property is now 60 per cent less expensive than in central Mumbai , where the price per square foot is USD 664 according to Jones Lang LaSalle.

Source: Indian Realty News

India's housing markets mixed

admin — 06/04/2011 13:21:00

Interest rate rises are beginning to bite in India, and housing markets in major cities weakened in 2010.

Yet this hasn’t broken the clear pattern since the relaunch of the National Housing Bank residential property index (NHB Residex) in 2007:

* successful growing cities have seen house prices rise rapidly (Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Faridabad)

* prices in some other cities have fallen strongly (Jaipur, Hyderabad, Kochi, Bengalaru).

The contrasts are really striking. House prices have more than doubled in Chennai from 2007 to today (with the index moving from 100 to 204). During the same period the house price index fell from 100 to 66 in Jaipur.

One explanation is that cities relying mainly on electronics and manufacturing suffered most during the global financial crisis, while cities with offshoring and business process outsourcing (BPO) showed resiliency – but that is not the whole story, and does not explain the strong house-price falls over the past 4 years in Bengalaru (now recovering).

Source: Global Property Guide

Hyatt to open new India hotels despite partner scandal

admin — 29/03/2011 12:00:00

US-based international hotel chain Hyatt will go head with its five new developments in key Indian tourist locations, despite partner on the ground DB Realty being involved in a high-profile telecom scam.

The company, who is constructing the hotels on behalf of Hyatt and will then turn them over to the international chain for management upon completion, is under investigation for involvement in undervaluing the 2G telecom spectrum in India to favour certain companies. Hyatt's global head of real estate and development Steve Haggerty said that with most of the five projects in Goa, Pune, Mundra and Mumbai already in development, the company's position was unchanged.

"The plan is intact. The hotels we intended to do with DB Hospitality, we still plan to open, and they remain in the pipeline", he said. "We cannot really comment on what has happened with DB Realty."

Source: Indian Realty News

Jade Jagger to design luxury Mumbai development

admin — 18/02/2011 13:27:00

Jade Jagger, the daughter of Rolling Stones rocker Mick Jagger, is set to design homes for a Mumbai luxury residential project as Indian builders hire international designers to woo customers whose wealth is soaring. J

agger, 39, will create residences for Lodha Developers Ltd. in the northeastern suburb of Goregaon, according to a marketing brochure targeting wealthy buyers obtained by Bloomberg. Jagger has partnered with London-based design firm Yoo Design Studio, its Chairman John Hitchcox said in a phone interview on Feb. 16.

"India is a great opportunity for us,” said Hitchcox. “We are now living in this mass celebrity world. People are looking for more and more identity. There is a tendency for them to want to identify with how others live and their lifestyles.”

Indian developers need to lure buyers in a market where new home sales fell as much as 25 percent after prices reached a record in early 2010. Prices won’t recover in the next six months, London-based property broker Knight Frank LLP said in December, while local broker IIFL Ltd. said Mumbai real estate companies may cut home prices to revive flagging sales after banks curbed credit to developers.

Source: Bloomberg

India luxury housing market slows down

admin — 15/02/2011 11:16:00

American real estate tycoon Donald Trump might want to rethink the timing of his entry to India.

Mr. Trump will be lending his name for a soon-to-be launched 60-story luxury apartment building in Mumbai. But sales of such existing homes in India have fallen in recent months.

An estimated 40% of luxury apartments coming up in India's financial center are unsold, say analysts and brokers. These apartments cost anywhere from $1 million to $12 million, and range from 5,000 square feet to 13,000 square feet in size.

Sales have slowed down in the last two to three months, thanks mainly to the steep prices. In December, the number of apartments registered in Mumbai – an indicator of sales – fell 50% from the same month the previous year, according to research from investment firm Prabhudas Liladhar Pvt. Ltd.

While this data includes non-luxury apartments as well, real estate brokers and consultants say luxury home sales have been similarly affected.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Mumbai commercial market on the up

admin — 08/02/2011 12:18:00

The commercial real estate market in Mumbai is finally bouncing back after a prolonged recession-induced slump. According to a recent report by property consultants Knight Frank, the commercial market in Mumbai is showing signs of revival and enquiries are on the rise.

The first three quarters of financial year 2010-11 witnessed more transaction of office space at 6.83 million sq ft than the entire last fiscal, which saw only 6.68 million sq ft uptake of commercial realty space. “The postponement of expansion plans by many BFSI (Banking, Financial Services and Insurance) and IT/ITES companies, which are the principal drivers for commercial office demand in Mumbai further, affected the overall office market,” says the report.

It is only recently that commercial rentals have started stabilising after nose-diving from July 2009 to December 2010 due to a feeble demand for the excess supply. Lately, some pockets in Mumbai have shown an improvement in absorption by the BFSI and IT/ITES sector, which accounted for more than 60 per cent of the transactions for the last two years.

The total office space transaction during the first three quarters of this year saw 27 per cent from BFSI sector, a steep decline from its share of 41 per cent during last year. On the other hand, the IT/ITES sector had a share of 37 per cent of transacted office space this year as against only 20 per cent last year.

“During the slowdown, the IT sector had hit rock bottom. Over the last two quarters since the economy both in India and globally started moving upward, IT firms like IBM, Infosys have started recruiting. The sectoral growth may plateau eventually, but the firms know that this is the right time to expand,” said Samantak Das, National Head for Research at Knight Frank (India)

Source: Indian Realty News

Restaurant Week showcases foodie delights for Mumbai tourists

admin — 07/02/2011 11:42:00

In the last few years, Mumbai has witnessed something of a culinary explosion. In 2010, two internationally acclaimed chefs — Ian Kittichai, who is Thai, and Vineet Bhatia, an Indian — brought their considerable talents to the city.

This year, two prominent global restaurant brands, Megu and Hakkasan, will open outposts here. But most of the city’s gourmands will tell you that fine dining options in Mumbai are still woefully inadequate. Mumbai’s population hovers somewhere around 14 million, but there are perhaps no more than 40 high-end restaurants in the city.

In order to celebrate this still fledgling fine-dining scene, Mumbai will host its second-ever restaurant week this month. Scheduled for Feb. 7 to 13, Restaurant Week Mumbai, or RWM, will give diners the opportunity to sample prix-fixe menus at seven of the city’s most venerated restaurants for 1,000 rupees (about $20) per person.

Conceptualized by a quartet of food-industry professionals, the inaugural restaurant week took place in September last year. “In Mumbai, people are still very conscious of what they’re paying for a meal. It’s difficult to start a high-end restaurant,” said Mangal Dalal, a 28-year-old food writer who is one of RWM’s founders, “which is why we wanted to promote the experience of fine dining and help restaurants attract a more diverse clientele.”

Last year, despite the short time span and low advertising budget, RWM managed to attract about 1,200 diners. This year, emboldened by that modest success, the organizers have decided to take the event to New Delhi as well.

Source: New York Times

PIGS versus BRICs - which property hotspots are best?

Sarah Kendell — 28/01/2011 10:50:00

Individual European property markets vary dramatically, with country annual growth ranging from minus 14.8% in Ireland and minus 3.7% in Spain, to stronger European countries like Poland at 8.1% growth and Turkey at 2%.

Emerging markets might be considered higher reward than European markets. However it is important to note that they can overheat and also be higher risk, Dubai is a classic example of this.

Europe, the PIGS and BRICs

The troubles encountered in the Eurozone, including financial bail outs, the banking review, the establishment of a permanent, Eurozone financial rescue mechanism, all played a role in shaping the developed nations' property market in 2010.

Add to the mix, property buyers wanting to raise finance, as well as watching exchange rates. For example, European banks' exposure to the debt of Spain is €257bn, (according to FT/CEBS analysis) that is a sizeable sum. This will influence access to funding for overseas property purchases.

The Euro area is forecast to grow at 1.3% 2011, vs 6.8% and 6.4% for emerging economies. Economic growth bodes well for property markets, since the wealth generated creates property demand and acts as a driver of the property market.

On the face of it, the emerging economies look a better bet, however they will need resources to grow, both money and raw materials (witness the spate of lead thefts to supply china with base metal requirements). Some emerging markets have not yet got a proven, "foreign property buyer" track record.

Sustainability of the domestic, property markets will also be a key question to bear in mind, as well as how foreign property buyers are treated by regulation.

What does this mean for Overseas property buyers in 2011/12?

A country need not be showing booming property growth right now, for it to be a good future, investment opportunity, but it must have the potential to recover in the medium term. This way property can be bought at keen prices and has the scope to grow as an investment.

Choosing the bank a buyer deals with, could be as important as the country chosen to buy in, for 2011 and beyond. Banks with low exposure to weaker economies and bad debt may be worth seeking out.

India budget airline starts international flights

Sarah Kendell — 24/01/2011 11:39:00

India's ambitious budget airline IndiGo will start international operations in August, the company said in a statement, a week after it placed a huge order for 180 new aircraft. The aviation ministry has approved IndiGo's proposal to launch services to Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai and Muscat.

"IndiGo is delighted to receive these important traffic rights and is grateful to the ministry of civil aviation for approving its application in a timely manner," IndiGo said on Wednesday.

"This will hasten the process of Indian carriers taking back some of the market share that has been lost over the past many decades to foreign carriers."

Privately-owned IndiGo is the rising star in the booming Indian industry, which saw passenger numbers leap 25 percent year on year in November 2010. It currently has a fleet of 34 Airbus planes and offers 221 daily flights to 24 destinations across India. The company's $15 billion deal to buy 180 A320 aircraft is the largest number of Airbus planes ever bought in a single order.

Trump plans new Mumbai development

Sarah Kendell — 19/01/2011 11:39:00

Billionaire Donald Trump is preparing to launch a real estate project aimed at the uber-rich in Mumbai. The 60-storey Trump Tower, slated to come up at Hughes Road, will have 40-45 apartments — roughly one per floor.

Penthouses, podium decks, leisure floors and a 24-hour concierge will be among the facilities on offer. The apartment would have 5,800 sq ft super built-up apartments, with usable area of 1,800 sq ft. The formal launch was to be on January 22 and the mock property was to be ready by mid-March 2011.

Interestingly, however, the Trump family is unlikely to invest any money in the project. This is because foreign direct investment (FDI) regulations in the country do not allow any foreign investor to come in the market and develop anything less than a 25-acre parcel or a minimum construction of 5 lakh sq ft, whereas the Trump Tower is a 2.5 lakh sq ft property. Thus, sources say, it’s just the brand name that the Trumps are lending to the project with Rohan Lifescapes.

Indian commercial subject to higher tax slot in 2011?

Catherine Deshayes — 19/12/2010 15:41:00

Luxury hotels, schools and gymnasiums will soon have to shell out more property tax for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)...

On Wednesday, a committee of councillors accepted the proposal to hike property tax paid by three-star and five-star hotels, high-end schools and gyms located in ‘low-tax properties' categories.

The proposal was put forward by the Municipal Valuation Committee (MVC), constituted by the Delhi government to review property tax in the city.

The new proposal will overide the earlier criteria, where commercial properties located in ‘high-tax' category areas had to pay more tax than others. Now, all high-end properties may have to pay tax at the rate of 10 per cent, irrespective of their location.

At present, area under the jurisdiction of the MCD has been divided into eight categories - A to H. Category A stands for upscale colonies that pay the highest amount of tax, including New Friends Colony, Vasant Kunj and Anand Niketan.

Source: www.indianexpress.com

Air India ordered to rehire overweight attendants

Catherine Deshayes — 13/12/2010 18:08:00

An Indian court has ordered a state-run Air India to rehire an airline hostess that the carrier had sacked nearly a decade ago for being overweight...

Dismissed overweight women have previously unsuccessfully challenged Air India's policy in Indian courts, which upheld clauses in the group's employment contracts.

Neepa Dhar, 44, joined the carrier as an airline attendant in 1987 but was grounded in 1997 due to her weight and finally dismissed in 2001.

The Calcutta High Court told the airline on Friday to pay all Dhar's earnings owing since 2001 and to assign her to ground duty.

The airline declared Dhar unfit to work as a flight attendant after she became overweight from medication taken to treat "high altitude anxiety syndrome", her lawyer told the court.

The court ruling came days after Air India voluntarily invited back 10 former flight hostesses it dismissed last year for being overweight as it sought to overcome a severe shortage of cabin crew.

Three had said they would be willing to come back, an airline spokesman said, but added the weight limits still applied - they are calculated on height and age - and that the women would have to be more svelte if they re-applied for their old jobs.

"We are not relaxing our standards," the spokesman told AFP.

The crisis-hit airline has faced protests from passengers in recent weeks over severe delays to its flights caused by a shortage of cabin crew and endemic absenteeism.

The Hindustan Times newspaper has reported the loss-making group, which is seeking a fresh government bailout, will run out of cash soon and be unable to pay staff after March.

Source: AFP

Soaring land prices push Indian property costs up

Catherine Deshayes — 21/11/2010 18:17:00

Soaring land prices and higher construction costs could result in property prices rising in India if developers pass on the increases to buyers and concentrate on more profitable luxury projects, it is claimed...

But with sales expected to fall due to price hikes, there is concern that the country's real estate market will suffer if they do.

There is also concern that lenders will charge more so developers also face rising loan costs, especially for land. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has already toughened its stance on rising asset prices.

Also, according to analysts some key urban markets such as Mumbai and Delhi will suffer if costs are passed on and buyers are forced to take out higher loans.

While banks have not yet raised rates, analysts believe home loan rates may rise 50 basis points, increasing the borrowing cost. Overall, higher prices and rising costs could hurt demand.

Unitech and DLF, India's top developers have said that raw material costs have doubled year on year in the third quarter of 2010. They are also facing rising labour costs.

But, while developers say cost pressures are likely to stabilise, higher land prices and subsequent pricing are the key concerns. Analysts say developers that have outsourced projects with fixed contracts or whose projects are nearing completion will be less affected as compared to those that are yet to start their projects.

There are also concerns that developers, who promised last year to build more affordable properties, are now retreating into the more profitable luxury real estate sector.

DLF, the country's largest real estate firm has already revealed that an increased focus on affordable housing over luxury has dented profitability. The company's consolidated net profit declined 5% in the third quarter compared with the same period in 2009.

Some believe that prices will fall, especially in Mumbai and New Delhi. They could come down by 15 to 20%, according to Indian real estate consultancy Disha Direct. And Godrej Properties is describing prices in the two cities as being over heated.

A lot of new launches in the country are in the luxury market. The MAN Group has launched its premium residential project near the Dahisar check-naka. The six 23 storey towers project is described as setting a new benchmark in privileged living.

Peninsula Land, Franklin Templeton Investments and Samira Habitats, is to develop a coastal township 20 miles south of Mumbai of which three quarters will be luxury residential villas and condominiums.

Sunteck Realty, one of Mumbai's top developers, has announced the launch of a brand new luxury residential tower, Signia High, which it claims will redefine high end living for the residents of the western suburbs with 96 lavishly planned apartments and sky villas.

While M3M Group has launched its first project, the M3M Golf Estate, in Gurgaon, targeting high net worth individuals. Luxury apartments will be built around a nine hole golf course. They will have state of the art kitchens, Wi-Fi, roof top jogging tracks, swimming pools and access to a world class club house.

Source: www.propertywire.com

The billion dollar home

Catherine Deshayes — 18/10/2010 07:33:00

The richest man in India, Mukesh Ambani, has moved into his new home in Mumbai which is 27 storeys high and worth £630m...

Ambani, his wife and three children have moved into the building which is named Antilia, after a mythical Island. It contains a health club with a gym and dance studio, at least one studio, a ballroom, guestrooms and a range of lounges and a 50 seater cinema.

There is even an elevated garden with ceiling space to accommodate small trees.

The roof has three helicopter pads and there is also underground parking for 160 cars, which will come in handy for guests at Ambani's forthcoming housewarming party.

From the top floors of the 173m high property are spectacular views of Mumbai and of the Arabian Sea.

The 53 year-old tycoon is not only the richest man in India but the fourth richest man in the world. In total there is reported to be 37,000 square metres of space, which is more than the Palace of Versailles.

To keep it running smoothly requires 600 staff.

According to Forbes magazine Ambani, who owns much of Reliance Industries, the oil, retail and biotechnologies conglomerate, is worth £18bn. He used to help run the company before falling out with his brother.

The glass, steel and tiles used to make the building are reported to be from local sources.

Ambani does not appear to be influenced by calls by the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, for business leaders to be "role models of moderation".

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Increase in India real estate needed to meet demands

Steph Engall — 07/10/2010 13:34:00

A study conducted by property firm Cushman & Wakefield India has revealed that the country will need approximately 240 million sq. ft of commercial property and about 4.25 million units of residential real estate to meet the demand in the coming four years...

About 70% of the total estimated demand for residential units during this period is expected from the mid-range and affordable segments, the study said. It also estimates demand for retail space of about 55 million sq.ft. with the current oversupply situation likely to stabilise only by 2013. The hospitality sector is expected to see demand of about 78 million room nights during the period.

Around 60% of the total estimated pan-India residential demand by 2014 is expected to be from India's top-seven cities, with tier-I metros, like the National Capital Region (NCR) and Mumbai, expected to account for around 40% of the total demand, the firm said in a report released on Wednesday. Mumbai is likely to witness the highest cumulative demand of 830,000 units as well as growth of 23%, followed by the NCR, which is likely to witness a growth of about 20%.

The housing sector has seen a rise in demand over the last two to three quarters. However, the supply largely remains constrained due to the slow pace of construction activity during 2009-10. As a result, demand across the top-seven cities is estimated to be three times the supply during 2010-14, it said.

The ratio will, however, differ across segments: the demand from the affordable and mid-range segment is expected to be three times the supply, while from the economically weaker section, it will be six times; the high-end segment is expected to witness a demand-supply gap of approximately 1.5 times, despite the likely oversupply scenario in tier-I cities in the medium-term, the report said.

About 46% of the pan-India office space demand estimated over the next five years is likely to be from Bangalore, NCR and Mumbai, signifying their continued predominance, the study said. Tier-II cities, such as Kolkata and Chennai, are, however, likely to generate demand at a faster pace, at an annual rate of about 22% and 17%, respectively.

Source: Indian Realty News

Property developer in Punjab controversy

Steph Engall — 06/10/2010 13:46:00

Controversy has arisen Over real estate developer, DLF, looking to develop a mega industrial park in panchayat lands...

The panchayat has said the villagers would not part with the land. Residents of Chahar Majra village, about 5 kilometres from Chandigarh, have no land to cremate their dead.

Villagers have been requesting the government to allow them to use the common panchayat land, but the government has not responded. And the reason behind this denial is that private developer DLF has proposed to come up with a mega industrial park.

Khwaja Khan, village head said, "We do not want to give our land over for work that is not in the benefit of the village." Mohammad Sadiq, a villager said, "We do not want that anyone should take possession of our land." Meanwhile, the government has washed its hands of the controversy on the land whose current value is almost Rs 1.5 to 2 crores an acre.

Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal said, "We will take a decision only after forming a committee of the district DC and villagers."

Caught in between the government and the villagers, DLF has run into trouble not only in this village but also in Gurgaon Cyber City where the Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed the Haryana government's acquisition of more than 19 acres of land to be handed over to DLF.

Source: Indian Realty News

India requests affordable property for urban poor

Steph Engall — 05/10/2010 12:48:00

Aiming to make India slum-free, the Indian government invited banks, other financial institutions and the real estate sector to use its interest subsidy scheme for construction of affordable houses for urban poor...

"There is a need for credit enhancement through appropriate fiscal, legal and institutional mechanism to ensure the flow of capital to realise the vision of slum free India," Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja said on the World Habitat Day event.

"I invite all the stakeholders particularly the banks, financing institutions and the real estate sector to come forward to make use of the opportunities offered by our schemes such as Interest Subsidy Scheme for Housing the Urban Poor and the Scheme for Affordable Housing in Partnership and to work hand-in-hand to find viable solutions which make a positive lasting impact on our cities," she said.

Urban population is expected to increase manifold in the next two decades. In the absence of proper homes, people are forced to reside in inhabitable and often unsafe places. According to the ministry, the total urban housing shortage was 24.71 lakh as on 2007.

Seeking ways to deal with housing shortage, she said, "the housing deficit cannot be addressed only by government programmes. A strategy is required which converts the housing shortage into a market opportunity and mobilises private investments."

Lamenting that urban poor face financial exclusion, she said, "financial institutions are reluctant to lend to the lower income segments in view of perceived credit risks, lack of credit history and difficulties in foreclosure of loans. This outlook requires a change."

Source: Indian Realty News

12 million square feet of residential projects to be launched

Steph Engall — 01/10/2010 12:41:00

This fiscal year, Sobha Developers are to launch residential projects of around 12 million square feet...

"Prices have been stable. This quarter on, there have been selective price increases on some products," managing director J C Sharma told the Reuters India Infrastructure Summit on Wednesday.

Of the 12 million square feet projects the company plans to launch, Sobha hopes to sell about 3 million in the year to March 2011, Sharma said.

The company, which has a significant presence in southern India, reported a surge in standalone net profit for the April-June quarter.

Source: Indian Realty

Frugal trends in post-recession travel

Steph Engall — 29/09/2010 14:57:00

Corporates look to save money on travel costs during the post-recession recovery process...

While the global travel bans that prevented executives from flying anywhere internationally, conducting overseas business or attending global conferences have been rescinded, today it seems that businesses are going budget.

Instead of sipping champagne in the luxury of the business-class section, today executives are flying economy, and even favouring low cost carriers in order to save the pennies. You only have to look at the sheer number of airlines that have ditched their first and business class sections completely to see that demand is dwindling for the premium seats.

One TMC said that the post-recession travel budgets were unlikely to ever return to pre-2009 levels. "The travel industry will never be the same as we experienced before. Times have changed."

With corporates cutting back so much, TMCs will have to make some pretty serious changes to the way they do business if they are going to remain profitable in this new frugal travel environment.

Source: Arabian Business

Experts discuss growth of urban India

Steph Engall — 29/09/2010 14:36:00

Tomorrow a host of industry experts will converge to deliberate on various issues troubling the planned growth of urban India in a burgeoning economy...

Organised by the independent forum - Global Initiative for Restructuring Environment and Management (GIREM), the third edition of the ‘Urban Planning and Real Estate Leadership summit' will focus on finding solutions for sustainable development and management of metros and tier one and tier two cities.

‘The three-day annual summit provides an opportunity to discuss the latest trends in the industry, share ideas and learn from expert presentations on various issues that confront urban planning and real estate growth in the Indian sub-continent,' GIREM president Shyam Sundar told IANS.

The summit has emerged as a unique platform for all stakeholders in the industry, including corporate end users of office, commercial and retail, developers, architects, consultants and investors to interact through its various sessions and chalk out growth strategies.

‘Business establishments will be at the forefront to collaborate and find solutions to change the way we perform in a globalised world. Water, energy, waste management and other pressing issues of urban India will be in the centre stage of discussions,' Sundar said.

‘The event provides a right platform for industry professionals and other stakeholders to connect with the real world and co-create the future that beholds us. Seminars and panel discussions during the summit add value to the understanding of the challenges faced by the urban development sector,' Puri pointed out. The event will explore a multi-dimensional approach to issues of commercial office space, location, special economic zones (SEZ) and impact of real estate business.

Source: Indian Realty News

Spain, France and Italy join forces to attract emerging markets

Steph Engall — 28/09/2010 15:15:00

Europe's top three holiday destinations have teamed together in the hope of drawing tourists from emerging markets: Brazil, China and India...

"The goal is to improve the positioning of the nations of the Mediterranean Arc in distant markets where promoting Spain, France or Italy on their own is more complicated," Spain's tourism ministry said in a statement.

Under the agreement signed in Brussels, the three nations will jointly produce fliers and other promotional material for the three emerging markets that highlight their cultural attractions, food and shopping opportunities.

They will also organise promotional visits for journalists and tour operators from Brazil, China and India beginning later this year to boost awareness of their attractions in these countries.

Brazil, China, India and Russia, the so-called BRIC countries, are the world's top four emerging markets.

The four nations, which represent 40 percent of the world population, accounted for about half of global growth between 2000 and 2008 and will account for 61 percent global gross domestic product growth in 2014, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Source: AFP

Britain reassures India over immigration caps

Catherine Deshayes — 07/09/2010 07:34:00

British officials are continuing to reassure India about the potential impact of a proposed immigration cap that New Delhi has warned could hit trade between the countries...

The most high profile reassurances have come from British Immigration Minister Damian Green on a recent three-day trip to India. He said that the cap on non-European Union migrants was aimed at bringing unregulated migration to sustainable levels.

‘I am convinced that we can achieve our objective of reducing migration to the United Kingdom, while driving forward our commitment to trade and inward investment. We want to encourage the brightest and the most talented workers, entrepreneurs and investors to come to Britain,' he said.

He held talks with Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma who has warned the cap could have an adverse effect on bilateral trade relations and Overseas Affairs minister Vayalar Ravi.

Ravi talked about the historical ties between the two countries and requested Green to ensure that Indian students and professionals do not suffer because of the changes in the immigration norms. ‘Our views have been expressed. I requested Green not to equate India with any other country. We have a historical relationship and I told him about our concerns on the issue,' Ravi said.

But not everyone is convinced. In the UK employers groups are warning that more companies are looking to recruit overseas and when it comes to the IT industry India is one of the main providers of skilled workers.

A study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the accounting giant KPMG found that call centre, IT and finance jobs are most likely to be taken overseas with the majority of jobs to be moved to India.

Gerwyn Davies, public policy adviser at CIPD and author of the report, said the current points based system for UK immigration is working by only allowing in skilled migrations, and that a radical cap that is imposed too quickly could affect the economic recovery.

‘The proposed introduction of a migration cap comes at a time when many employers are still struggling to fill skilled vacancies despite the high unemployment rate. The training of local or British workers to fill skilled jobs currently occupied by migrant workers will not happen overnight,' he said.

‘A radical cap could potentially cut off a labour supply and impede growth in UK companies, which will be devastating given that the government's hopes for reducing unemployment hinge solely on the private sector growing jobs,' he added.

The temporary UK Visa cap now applies to all new applicants under Tier 1 (General), except for extension applications and in country applications.

Source: www.expatforum.com

Delhi most sought after by Indian buyers

Catherine Deshayes — 26/07/2010 07:22:00

Delhi is the most popular place in India to buy a property with most buyers looking for a place to live rather than for investment, according to a new survey...

Some 34% of buyers are looking to buy a flat in Delhi, 28% are looking at Mumbai and 11% each opting for Bangalore and Hyderabad, the survey from the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) shows.

The survey also reveals that the realty sector in 2010 is going to be driven by end users.

Due to the recession and fluctuating property prices many put off buying last year but with an improving economy and slightly stable property prices, end users are ready to jump into the market this year.

Most of the buyers who are interested in buying a house this year want it for their personal use with 67% of those surveyed citing this reason. Some 23% are looking for property as a long term investment while 10% are looking at it as a short term investment, it also shows.

The survey has also found that the cost of buying a property is marginally higher now due to the hike in prices of construction material, taxes and rising interest rates. Cement and steel prices are increasing and this is likely to be passed on directly by developers to the customers while a 10% service tax on purchase of apartments will make buying more costly, it says.

Recently, the State Bank of India, one of the leading players in the housing finance market, raised interest rates on home loans. Although the bank will continue with its 8% teaser rate for the first year, it has increased rates for subsequent years. ‘There is a strong possibility of price hike as factors like service tax and rise of input prices will be passed on to the end users,' said Raj Menda of CREDAI.

The real estate sector had been hit by the recession due to falling demand and repayment pressures. However, the sector is now looking towards a recovery. ‘Roughly, as of now, real estate developers are saddled with 6% of unsold properties. In commercial property, there is an oversupply, which is expected to be absorbed in the next two years,' Menda added.

Although the outlook is positive there is still a long way to recovery. Banks are still cautious about providing housing loan to consumers and asking for higher collaterals for lending to real estate developers. Several property deals are being cancelled due to the additional costs being levied by developers, according to Yashwant Dalal, president of the Estate Agents Association of India.

He explained that many developers have decided to collect service tax, which adds up to nearly 4% of the price at the time it is handed over.

During the pre-global downturn property boom, many investors bought flats anticipating that the rates would go up further and just paid the builder the value of the flat, he said. ‘The agreement at that time did not mention anything about the service tax or the value added tax. Now, with property prices increasing past their pre-2008 peak, the developers insist on collecting the service tax and the 1% VAT when the investors try to sell these flats. They also have to pay the maintenance charges on the flat if it has not been paid yet. The buyer finds all these additional charges too costly to bear,' Dalal added.

Source: www.propertywire.com

Indian expats investing in home country

Catherine Deshayes — 15/07/2010 07:19:00

Indian expatriates have started investing in their home country in a big way as increasing job security in Gulf countries, coupled with fears of recession in Europe and North America, are prompting them to repatriate their savings, it is claimed...

‘The monetary crisis in Europe and America is forcing wealthy Indians to send their savings back to their home country. This trend may continue for some time, unless there is a dramatic recovery in the West,' said Saurabh Mukherjea, head of Indian equities at London based Execution Noble Group.

‘Rich Indians living in Europe and America are investing in Indian equities, Indian real estate and Indian fixed deposits,' he added.

The most popular investment asset for non resident Indians is real estate, closely followed by equities and high coupon debt, according to a report from Capitaline.

It found that NRI shareholding in companies like Rajesh Exports, Uttam Galva, Tanla Solutions, Graphite India and Carborundum Universal, among several other smaller companies, has gone up over the past 12 months.

‘NRI investments in India are showing a healthy trend. The confidence level of investors is high,' said Krishnan Ramachandran, chief executive officer of Barjeel Geojit Securities, a Dubai-based brokerage servicing Indian clients.

He said Gulf based investors have become bolder after fears of job losses subsided. ‘There is a change in the way Gulf based NRIs are investing in Indian shares. Most of them prefer to trade in mid-cap stocks these days. They sell these stocks on gaining 5% to 10%,' he added.

NRIs from the Gulf region account for nearly 25% of the total inflow of remittances. Apart from investments through Indian brokers, affluent investors also invest in India indirectly through participatory notes (PNs).

Such investments do not disclose the name of the investor or the benefactor. Many of those who invest through PNs are based out of Europe and the US, according to brokers with operations overseas.

Several Gulf based investors had redeemed or sold their investments during the Dubai credit crisis last year. The current flow of money to Indian shares can be seen as Gulf-based investors reversing those transactions, according to investment experts. While Gulf based NRIs are trying to benefit from investing in home markets, Indian expats in Europe and North America are sending back their savings to preserve it in Indian assets

Source: www.expatforum.com

New airport for India

Catherine Deshayes — 09/07/2010 12:27:00

India inaugurated a multi-billion-dollar airport terminal in New Delhi on Saturday -- a shiny glass and steel symbol of the country's aspirations as an emerging global power...

The state-of-the-art hub, which cost nearly $US3 billion ($A3.5 billion) and can handle 34 million passengers a year, was showcased at a special ceremony by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ahead of opening to the public later this month.

Built in just 37 months to coincide with New Delhi's hosting of the Commonwealth Games in October, the terminal sprawls over four square kilometres and boasts 97 automated walkways and 78 aerobridges.

"This is a demonstration of what India is truly capable of," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said at the inauguration ceremony at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, which was also attended by ruling Congress party president Sonia Gandhi.

The facility, on which nearly 40,000 workmen toiled at the height of construction, is India's third world-class airport after Hyderabad and Bangalore but dwarfs both.

"It's an advertisement of India's ability to create world-class infrastructure," economist D.H. Pai Panandiker, who heads the independent RPG Goenka Foundation in New Delhi, a private economic think-tank, said.

As Asia's third-largest economy after China and Japan, India urgently needs to upgrade its dilapidated transport infrastructure, including ports and roads, which is seen as a major hurdle to accelerating economic expansion.

"Overcoming our infrastructure handicaps will remove some of the major handicaps to faster growth," said Panandiker.

India's airline passenger traffic rates are among the world's highest and are expected to double over the next five years.

The new terminal was built by a public-private consortium -- headed by south India-based GMR Group -- that included Germany's Fraport and Malaysian Airports.

Source: AFP

Melbourne wins Air India service

Catherine Deshayes — 23/06/2010 12:47:00

In a diplomatic and economic coup for Victoria, India's national airline will introduce daily direct flights between Delhi and Melbourne...

Victoria beat New South Wales in a bidding war for the new Air India service, which will start operating from Melbourne Airport on November 1.

Yesterday's announcement comes after months of tension between India and Australia over violent and allegedly racist attacks on Indians in Melbourne, and intensive efforts by the federal and state governments to rebuild relations.

Premier John Brumby - who visited India in September on a mission to rescue Victoria's good name as a destination for foreign students and tourists - last night hailed the airline deal as the start of a new era of mutually beneficial cultural and personal exchanges between the two nations.

''The two economic giants of the 21st century are China and India, and to get in early with this historic arrangement with India's national carrier will be great for our state,'' Mr Brumby told The Age.

''For everything that's been written and said in the media [about the attacks on Indians in Victoria], the underlying relationship is very, very strong.'' He said the arrest last week of two youths over the murder of accounting graduate Nitin Garg, who was fatally stabbed on his way to work at the Yarraville Hungry Jack's in January, was a key development.

''It's brought some closure, and a much higher degree of confidence now by the Indian government in Victoria Police and our justice system,'' Mr Brumby said.

He confirmed the state government had spent a ''modest'' amount of public money to lure Air India to Melbourne.

Under the deal, the airline will establish its regional headquarters in Melbourne, creating about 80 jobs, and the Victorian government will contribute to the cost of an advertising campaign in India.

''They obviously need to get backsides on seats,'' Mr Brumby said.

''It's good for us because we get the tourists, and it's good for Air India because they get the volume and can offer more competitive fares.''

The deal is the culmination of a concerted campaign by the state government to reassure Indians they will be safe and welcome in Victoria.

Mr Brumby met India's Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Vayalar Ravi, in Melbourne last week, and the Minister for Human Resource Development, Kapil Sibal, in April.

Victorian Industry and Trade Minister Jacinta Allan, who visited India late last year, used yesterday's announcement to take a swipe at Sydney Airport.

Ms Allan said Air India's decision underscored Melbourne Airport's competitive advantages over its interstate counterparts. ''Melbourne Airport is Australia's major around-the-clock, curfew-free international airport, accommodating international carriers at about half the operating costs incurred at Sydney,'' she said.

Qantas, with India's Jet Airways, has daily flights from Delhi via Singapore.

Source: www.theage.com.au

Andaman Island tours 'flout Indian law'

Catherine Deshayes — 21/06/2010 10:01:00

'Human safaris' threaten the future of the Jarawa tribe in the Andaman Islands...

A campaign group has given warning that tours to see the Jarawa people in the Andaman Islands are threatening the survival of the indigenous tribe, which has inhabited parts of the islands for thousands of years.

Survival International, which campaigns on behalf of tribal groups throughout the world, claims that at least eight local travel companies are continuing to offer what it describes as "human safaris".

Trips to see the Jarawa are banned under Indian law because of the risk of spreading disease among the tribe, whose 300 remaining members have little immunity to common illnesses.

There are regulations in place that prevent outsiders from interacting with or taking photographs of the Jarawa. However, Survival International claims that local operators are flouting these rules. Some package trips are advertised as "geological tours", but feature excursions to the Jarawa reserve in their itineraries.

"Tourists - some Westerners but mostly from the Indian mainland - travel through the reserve on a daily basis," said Miriam Ross, a Survival International campaigner. "Since 1999, there have been two measles epidemics, with reports of at least one death."

She added that in 2002 the Supreme Court of India ordered the closure of the Grand Andaman Trunk Road, the entry point for tour groups into the reserve, but local authorities continue to permit its use.

Stephen Corry, the organisation's director, said the future of the tribe was under threat. "The Jarawa people lived successfully on the island without contact with outsiders for probably about 55,000 years," he said. "Today, a road runs right through their forest home, and they risk decimation by disease."

He said the fate of the Jarawa could echo that of the neighbouring Bo tribe, which has been wiped out since the arrival of British colonisers in 1858. The last speaker of the Bo language died in January.

Survival International's warning follows an article by Andrew Lycett, published in The Sunday Times last weekend, describing a day trip to the Jarawa reserve, organised by Island Travels, a tour operator based in Port Blair. Mr Lycett said that seeing the Jarawa people was the reason he took the tour.

Although Island Travels says its excursion is to see limestone caves and mud volcanoes, the itinerary takes holidaymakers to areas where there is a chance of coming face to face with the tribe. Mr Lycett described a minor altercation between an Indian guide and a member of the Jarawa, who attempted to take something from inside the tour vehicle.

Ms Ross described the story as "irresponsible".

"It states that contacting the Jarawa is illegal, but then suggests how tourists can bypass this law," she said. "It even offers the contact details of a local tour company which can assist you."

Rachel Noble, of the pressure group Tourism Concern, said: "Tour operators profit from running the tours, the tourists get their trophy photographs, but what do the indigenous peoples gain from the encounter?

"Their perfectly reasonable expectation to receive something in exchange often draws a blank from tourists, who have, as far as they're concerned, already paid. This naturally leads to resentment and tensions, often resulting in the type of aggressive incident described in the piece. For this kind of tourism to be encouraged is shameful."

Greaves Travel, which arranged Mr Lycett's trip to the Andaman Islands, said it did not condone any activities that jeopardised local indigenous peoples and had nothing to do with his tour through the Jarawa reserve. It added that tourism to the Andaman Islands was of great benefit to the local economy.

A spokesman for Island Travels confirmed that there was a chance of seeing tribe members during its tours, but denied that it permitted holidaymakers to make contact with them or take photographs.

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Demand drops in India

Catherine Deshayes — 07/05/2010 11:37:00

Developers in some parts of India who put up their prices are now seeing demand drop as buyers refuse to pay inflated amounts...

The problem is particularly acute in Mumbai where those who experienced a revival of sales at hefty prices in the past six months are now seeing buyer resistance and sales dropping by as much as 50%.

‘On the one hand demand for land has begun but on the other demand for residential properties is slowing down,' said Pranay Vakil, chairman of property consultants Knight Frank.

According to Sandeep Sadh of Mumbai property Exchange in the south of the city where there are no new constructions people are deferring buying due to high prices even in resale flats. And in the suburbs buyers are unable to buy due to unrealistically high prices.' Sadh says his clients are sitting on the fence and waiting until prices become a bit more realistic.

An increase in mortgage increase rates is adding to the problem, says Anuj Puri, chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj. ‘One reason why sales picked up earlier in the year was due to pent-up demand from end users and investors. Demand is now stagnant and if prices go higher it will result in sales dropping further. It will be a challenge for developers to tackle,' he explained.

Although they grudgingly accept that high property prices are leading to slower sales, developers seem reluctant to take the first step in reducing prices. ‘Sales have slowed down. Like other builders, I realise prices are high. But people seem to be accepting the rates, and bookings are happening. So, when will correction happen? I cannot say,' said Hiren Patel of Atithi Developers.

He added that one reason for putting up prices is higher construction costs with the price of cement, steel and sand having gone up four and five fold. He denied it was greed on the part of developers. Higher prices are also affecting the resale market, he claimed.

It is hoped that a new property index will bring more clarity to India's real estate sector. The Reserve Bank of India is to create a property housing start up index to track new residential projects in 31 major cities and measure the changes in construction activities.

The HSUI will cover new residential projects in all major cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore. A spokesman said that housing start ups in a particular quarter would be estimated from the permits issued in that quarter and the various past quarters by using the rates at which the permits got converted into start ups in the recent past.

The housing index will give insights into consumer activity, as construction of new houses typically requires large investment. With the economy growing rapidly along with increased demand for housing, the index could be used to forecast demand for new houses, he added.

Meanwhile the National Housing Bank (NHB) has decided to expand its index of residential real estate rates from the five cities it currently covers to 36 cities.

Source: www.propertywire.com

New Delhi facing attacks?

Catherine Deshayes — 04/05/2010 09:54:00

The Indian capital faces possible ‘‘imminent'' militant attacks, the United States, Australia and Britain have warned, stepping up their risk advisories to travellers to New Delhi...

New Zealand also warned of an ‘‘extreme risk'' of terrorism in India as the nation battles to reassure visitors it can safely host the Commonwealth Games in October in New Delhi, which has been targeted before by militants.

‘‘There are increased indications that terrorists are planning imminent attacks in New Delhi,'' the US embassy said in a statement on its website on Saturday, urging tourists to avoid half-a-dozen of the city's popular shopping areas.

Police in New Delhi were taking ‘‘appropriate measures'' in response to the warnings, said police spokesman Rajan Bhagat as a source said police had been put on alert.

‘‘Security is adequate,'' Ravindra Singh, spokesman for India's Ministry of Home Affairs, said.

India is home to a wide range of separatists and insurgents, but Islamist terror groups, both homegrown and from across the border in Pakistan, are considered the most dangerous threat.

Tighter security was already in place around the city's congested markets and tourist hotspots in response to earlier warnings by Western nations about the chance of attacks in New Delhi.

The latest warnings added the mention that attacks could be ‘‘imminent.''

Australia, New Zealand, Britain and the US all issued similar warnings.

‘‘Specific and credible information indicates terrorist attacks in New Delhi, especially in markets, may be imminent,'' the Australian High Commission (embassy) said.

‘‘New Zealanders are strongly advised to avoid market areas of New Delhi in coming days and weeks,'' New Zealand's advisory said.

The US advisory said markets in New Delhi such as Connaught Place in the heart of the city could ‘‘be especially attractive targets for terrorist groups.''

‘‘Americans travelling or residing in India are strongly encouraged to maintain a high level of vigilance,'' it said.
The last major attack in New Delhi was a series of bomb blasts that ripped through busy, upmarket shopping areas in September 2008, leaving 22 people dead and wounding 100 more.

Security concerns about the forthcoming Commonwealth Games were stoked in April when two low-intensity bombs went off at a cricket stadium in the southern city of Bangalore ahead of an Indian Premier League match.
Some 8000 athletes are expected to attend the Commonwealth Games in October.

India has vowed to provide ‘‘foolproof'' security for athletes and spectators during the Games. The London-based Commonwealth Games Federation has said security for the Indian event is subject to ‘‘continual review.''

In February, a bomb exploded in a packed restaurant popular with travellers in the western Indian city of Pune, killing 16 people, including five foreigners.

It marked the first major incident since the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 10 Islamist gunmen launched an assault on multiple targets in India's financial capital, killing 166 people.

India blamed the Mumbai attacks on the banned Pakistan-based Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, straining already tense diplomatic ties with its neighbour.

The run-up to the field hockey World Cup in February and March was overshadowed by concern some teams might pull out. Ultimately, the tournament went ahead without incident with a heavy police presence.

Source: AFP

Property costs in India rise

Catherine Deshayes — 08/04/2010 09:56:00

The cost of buying a property prices in India could increase by 12% in 2010 due to the rising cost of construction materials, taxes and rising interest rates, it is claimed...

Cement and steel prices are increasing and this is likely to be passed on directly by developers and a 10% service tax on purchase of apartments will both make buying more costly, according to the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India.

And last week the State Bank of India (SBI), the largest bank in India and one of the leading players in the housing finance market, raised interest rates on home loans. Although the bank will continue with its 8% teaser rate for the first year, it has increased rates for the subsequent years.

‘There is a strong possibility of price hike as factors like service tax, rise of input prices will be passed on to the end users,' said Raj Menda.

The real estate sector has been badly hit by the recession due to falling demand and repayment pressures. However, the sector is now looking up with some tangible signs of economic revival.

‘There is roughly 6% of the unsold properties lying with real estate developers as of now. In commercial property, there is an oversupply which is expected to be absorbed in the next two years,' explained Menda.

But he added that banks are still cautious about providing housing loan to consumers and asking for higher collaterals for lending to real estate developers.

But several property deals are being cancelled due to the additional costs being levied by developers, according to Yashwant Dalal, president of the Estate Agents Association of India. He explained that many developers have decided to collect service tax which adds nearly 4% at the time of handing over.

During the pre global downturn property boom many investors bought flats anticipating the rates would go up further and just paid the builder the value of the flat, he explained. ‘The agreement at that time did not mention anything about the service tax or the value added tax. Now with property prices increasing past their pre-2008 peak, when the investors try to sell these flats, the developer insists on collecting the service tax and the 1% VAT. They also have to pay the maintenance charges on the flat if it has not been paid yet. The buyer finds all these additional charges too costly to bear,' he added.

Delhi is the most popular place to buy a property, according to a survey by real estate portal makaan.com. Its Realty Trends 2010 report shows that 34% want to buy in Delhi followed by 28% favouring Mumbai and 11% opting Bangalore and Hyderabad.

The survey also reveals that the realty sector in 2010 is going to be driven by end user. Due to the recession and fluctuating property prices, property seekers shied away from making a property purchase last year, but with an improving economy and slightly stable property prices, seekers are ready to jump into the market this year.

Most of the buyers who are interested in buying a house this year want it to live in with 67% buying for this reason. Some 23% are looking for property as a long term investment while 10% are seeking a short term investment, it also found.

Source: www.propertywire.com

Malaysia targets India increase

Catherine Deshayes — 10/03/2010 09:37:00

The Malaysian Tourism Ministry has again upped its target for tourist arrivals from India, hoping to pull in 650,000 visitors to Malaysia this year.

With budget carrier AirAsia making plans to fly to more major Indian cities later this year and the swelling in outbound travel in India, tourism officials are optimistic that the new target can be easily achieved.

"India is a main growth market and the country's outbound travel is booming. With AirAsia scheduled to fly to major cities soon, we can achieve a 10 percent growth without any problems," Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab Beg, Director-General of Tourism Malaysia, told the media here.

Despite the global economic recession last year, tourist arrivals from India were at a record figure of 589,838. After China, India is the second top tourism generating market for Malaysia in the region.

Mirza is currently leading a mission to six cities in India -- Ahemdabad, Bangalore, Cochin, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai -- to promote Malaysia extensively.

The Tourism Ministry will also focus more on emerging second tier cities in India, where outbound travel is steadily rising, largely spurred by the increasing economic wealth.

Over 23 million visitors from around the globe landed on Malaysian shores last year.

Source: www.bernama.com

The best place to live in India is...?

Catherine Deshayes — 08/03/2010 11:47:00

A new ‘liveability index' has revealed the best places to live in India.

According to the Liveability Index 2010, prepared jointly by CII and Institute for Competitiveness, Delhi is the best Indian city to live in, while steel city Jamshedpur ranks lowest in the

The country's financial capital Mumbai came second in the list, which was prepared on parameters like living standard, socio-cultural environment, education, medical standards and recreational possibilities among others.

Delhi comes on top in education, safety and economic environment; second in housing options, socio-cultural political environment; but medical standards remains the Achilles heel where the national capital finds 17th place.

"In overall quality of life, Delhi outscores on Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune and Gurgaon, which take up respective ranks second to ninth," the report said, adding that Faridabad, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Patna, Visakhapatnam and Jamshedpur are the last six ranked cities on overall quality of life.

www.ptinews.com

Affordable housing 'should be top Indian priority'

Catherine Deshayes — 19/02/2010 10:04:00

The Sahara India group has said that the pent-up demand for affordable housing in the country should be given top priority...

CEO, Sahara Prime City, Sushanto Roy said that to address the demand for affordable housing, the forthcoming budget should reintroduce tax holiday under section 80 IB for housing projects constructed after 31 March, 2008.

The real estate sector favoured an upward revision of tax exemption to Rs 3 lakhs compared to the existing limit of Rs 1.50 lakhs available on housing loan interest payment under section 24 (b) of IT Act, which would help boost demand for residential units.

He said that the tax holiday for hotels, under section 80 ID should be extended to 10 years from existing time limit of 5 years, in view of the long standing gestation period for the industry.

Early resolution and clarification on pending issues related to Real Estate Mutual Funds and Real Estate Investment Trust, should also be brought about said Sushanto Roy.

Source: The Economic Times

India's prices in recovery

Catherine Deshayes — 08/02/2010 11:29:00

India's residential property sector, by far the largest amongst the nation's property classes, has begun the march towards recovery as home prices across the country have shown signs of stability and growth, according to an in depth report into the real estate market...

But developers and investors have for too long focused on markets in the northern and southern regions of India while ignoring the opportunities in the central region of the country, says the report, Residential Opportunities in Central India, from Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

It looks in detail at residential markets in 10 cities in what is known as Central India. The report provides an analysis of the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand.

It says that demographic and economic fundamentals continue to favour smaller residential markets in India. ‘Across markets all markets in the country, demand for residential units will continue to be driven by growing populations, rising incomes, increased urbanizations, and a shift towards nuclear families,' it says.

‘Smaller markets, particularly those that have been underserved by national developers, will present increased opportunities due to the relative affordability and availability, along with unmet demand arising from an increasingly sophisticated set of consumers,' it adds.

Those markets with a combination of relatively higher levels of affluence and lower residential capital values, such as Indore, Udaipur, Cuttach and Bhilai, are predicted to be poised for growth over the medium term.

The report also points out that while local developers do exist in smaller markets, they do not necessarily have the expertise, financial strength or trusted name brand that national developers can offer in India's opaque residential sector.

But national developers need to take account of the variances in each local real estate market to maximize the returns on their projects. ‘These can include governmental regulations, consumer preferences, purchasing power and operational strategies,' the report says.

Pioneering developers such as Entertainment Word Developers, Omaxe and Sahara City have already entered Central Indian markets, which are amongst the most under served in the country, it adds. ‘Others will undoubtedly try to follow as these leaders demonstrate the viability of their market strategies, a fact that bodes well for consumers and the industry as a whole,' the report concludes.

Source: www.propertywire.com

Goa to ban bikini ads following attacks

Catherine Deshayes — 01/02/2010 11:21:00

The government of the Indian resort state of Goa may ban tourism ads featuring bikini-clad women to improve its image after a string of crimes against women, an official said last week...

The proposal, which has received backing from tourism authorities, was made to counter popular perceptions of Goa as a destination where there is easy access to sex and drugs, said state Tourism Minister Francisco Pacheco.

Russia this week slammed local authorities after repeated attacks on its nationals in Goa, including a case where a nine-year-old Russian girl was allegedly raped.

"We will make sure government ads don't have bikini clad women and we will also ask private tour operators to desist from having such images," Pacheco said.

The ban has yet to be approved but the edict would apply to print advertisements which are part of the Goa government's $US4.5-million global campaign to draw visitors to its famed sandy beaches and nightlife.

Russia has threatened to warn its citizens not to travel to Goa unless the government can ensure their safety and Moscow's consul general to India last month raised fears over the "criminal situation in Goa".

Tens of thousands of Russians visit the state each year, and some have been at the centre of high-profile crimes.

Last year, the mutilated body of a Russian woman was found on railway tracks. Other allegations of attacks on Russian tourists have been widely reported.

In December a 25-year-old Russian woman was allegedly raped by a local businessman with political connections.

The Goa government drew condemnation after one member of parliament appeared to suggest the woman had invited her fate by staying out late at night.

Goa's police, who have been accused of botching rape probes, said they had ordered a speedy investigation into the latest allegations involving the nine-year-old girl.

In another case which drew international attention, the partially clothed body of British girl Scarlett Keeling, 15, was discovered in 2008 on a north Goa beach.

She was found to have taken a cocktail of drink and drugs before she died.

Source: AFP

Indian property: in demand

Catherine Deshayes — 11/01/2010 11:26:00

Affordable property is set to play a key role in the residential real estate sector in India in 2010 on the back of a significant pickup in demand, according to the country's developers association...

An upturn in the economy and the Government's ongoing efforts to push growth in the infrastructure are expected to help the sector grow this year, said Kumar Gera, chairman of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI).
‘This year will be crucial for the housing industry given the Government's concern over the massive housing needs of the people, especially in urban areas,' Gera explained.

‘By the end of 2010 we expect prices in the real estate sector to roll back to at least 90% of the level prevalent in 2007/08,' he added. CREDAI estimates that values have fallen by 20 to 35% on average across different regions in the country since August 2008.

Real estate growth expectations are based on an assessment of GDP growth by CREDAI, the global revival, domestic sentiments and on the assumption that there would be no major unforeseen fluctuations in the economy or natural calamities this year, he explained.

The real estate market in India was most hit by the downturn between August and October of 2008 when the sales almost came to a standstill. There were some early signs of recovery in March 2009 and since then prices have stabilised and sales went on to improve considerably by the end of the year, Gera also said.

The growth of the information technology sector in different markets such as Bangalore, Pune and Kolkata will help drive the growth of housing in the regions irrespective of the national IT scenario, he said. And US economic recovery would help stabilise the situation in the IT sector and activities in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the country, he added.

Infrastructure is also set to aid the property market revival on a local basis. In Mumbai prices are already rising at the prospect of the city's second airport coming up near Khargar. According to Gulam Zia, national director for research and advisory services at Knight Frank, the Navi Mumbai area is likely to grow faster than other location.

Opening may be some six to seven years away yet, he said, but it is already a factor along with a new trans-harbour link and extensions to the metro network.
Generally it is southern cities that will see growth, according to Zia, but places like Kolkata in the east are also expected to see substantial growth, led by the IT industry.

‘Other emerging locations include Mahesh Tala and Tara Tala. Many new townships are being constructed in Tara Tala, gradually transforming it from an industrial zone to a residential township. This will be a promising area in the future,' Zia added.

Source: www.propertywire.com

Indian minister twitters discontent

Catherine Deshayes — 04/01/2010 10:59:00

India's Twitter-loving junior foreign minister has used the microblogging site to criticise his government's move to tighten rules for long-term tourist visas, his account showed yesterday...

Shashi Tharoor questioned the logic behind the tougher rules, saying the Islamist militants behind last year's Mumbai attacks hijacked a boat and entered the city from Pakistan by sea.

"Issue is not security vs tourism, but whether visa restrictions protect our security. 26/11 killers had no visas," he wrote on Twitter.

Under the previous rules, foreigners on five or 10-year visas were required to leave India every 180 days. Many would simply fly to a neighbouring country for a brief stay before returning.

Since November 4, they face the same 180-day deadline, but will have to stay out of the country for two months before they can re-enter.

Indian foreign ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said last week the new guidelines were issued "to facilitate bonafide tourists."

The ministry is probing why its Chicago consulate granted multiple visas to a Pakistani-American, David Coleman Headley, who is accused of helping plan the Mumbai siege in which 166 people died.

Headley had reportedly been under surveillance by US authorities.

Tharoor said the new visa rules would alienate tourists and cost the economy millions of dollars.

Tharoor, a former UN undersecretary general, defended himself in Monday's edition of the Hindustan Times newspaper, saying he was only drawing attention to the larger debate on security.

Tharoor ignited controversy in September when he joked on Twitter about flying economy class with "holy cow" politicians in response to new government austerity measures.

Cows are considered sacred in Hindu-majority India and Tharoor faced resignation calls from the opposition and even some members of his ruling Congress Party.

Source: AFP

70,000 new affordable homes in India

Catherine Deshayes — 11/12/2009 11:58:00

The authorities in Haryana, northern India, have announced plans for a major residential project in Gurgaon...

Believed to be around five years in the planning, the 1,400-acre project will be built in the southern periphery of Gurgaon, and will provide housing to around 70,000 families.

Haryana Urban Development Authority will develop 1,000 acres, while the rest will be developed by private players like Emmar-MGF and DLF, with completion earmarked for late next year.

The prices of the news homes have not yet been determined, but it is believed that they will be offered at a much cheaper rate compared to existing homes in Gurgao.

TC Gupta, director, town and country planning and special secretary, housing told the press: "We have decided to deviate from the earlier practise by readying complete infrastructure on the site before unveiling the housing schemes by Huda or private builders. Our other guidelines for housing poor and economically weaker sections remain unchanged."

Source: www.homesoverseas.co.uk/news

India ‘lock in period' to be scrapped

Catherine Deshayes — 07/12/2009 10:41:00

A three year lock in period for developers and foreign investors in the real estate market in India is expected to be scrapped - The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry have put forward proposals to get rid of the statutory condition...

Developers and investors have long been critical of the policy saying that it is stifling investment.

Currently foreign investment in housing is subject to certain rules covering capitalisation norms and the minimum area to be developed. But it is the fact that the original investment cannot be repatriated for three years from completion that is stifling investment, critics claim.

The government has indicated that it is keen liberalise the Foreign Direct Investment regime in India.

‘The original restrictions on repatriation were a cautionary measure intended to prevent speculative investments in the real estate sector,' one official said.

‘However, this sector has been feeling the pressures of the global economic crisis and has desperately been in need of greater capital and liquidity to fund its existing projects and growth,' he added.

It is considered that a change will boost the real estate sector in India but also create jobs and greater domestic economic activity.

But there are some concerns that the proposed relaxation will result in a fluctuation of realty stocks and thus lead to market volatility.

But supporters say that less restrictions on foreign investments will help the economy overall.

Meanwhile developers in India are relieved that they do not have a lot of links with debt hit Dubai.
DLF, India's largest real estate company, said plans to enter the Dubai market have now been postponed. ‘Luckily for us the one deal for which we were negotiating fell through,' said DLF executive director Rajeev Talwar.

DLF was close to finalising a joint venture with the now troubled Nakheel whose parent company Dubai World is trying to postpone debt payments while it restructures its finances.

Developer Omaxe, which has paid the first installment for buying land for two residential projects in Dubai, is considering pulling out. ‘There has been a slowdown in the Dubai real estate market.

Looking at the current situation, we are considering exiting the two projects,' said chairman and managing director Rohtas Goel.

Source: www.propertywire.com

Rising property markets

Catherine Deshayes — 02/12/2009 11:00:00

The final quarter of 2009 has seen a broad improvement in interest shown for emergent property markets in Morocco and India. With the United Kingdom and India having enjoyed a historic relationship over the past 150 years, including a British Indian population settled in many parts of the UK, it comes as welcome news for the one of the world's new economic powerhouses to receive increased investment interest from UK property investors...

The cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Goa and Chandighar have recently generated notable interest at international property development events, from those hoping to capitalise on the economic growth that these cities have experienced.

UK property investors are also turning their attention to profitable real estate markets in California and Cape Town, with the key interest being holiday homes and apartments.

The renewed confidence shown in international property markets has also been seen domestically within the UK during 2009. New properties for sale that came onto the market in 2009 performed particularly well, with an overall increase in applicant and transaction levels. Property developments approaching completion should be considered an attractive investment opportunity for those looking for profitable returns.

At the higher end of the property market, mainly targeted by those looking for a cash transactions as well as first time buyers with parental assistance is showing the most potential, and is taken as an indicator of the broader resurgence of the UK property market. At the entry level of the market- those wishing to get onto the first rung of the property ladder are taking advantage of the wide range of new home incentives on offer however there continues to be a shortage of availability of new build mortgage products.

Source: www.hamptons.co.uk

Positive future for India

Catherine Deshayes — 19/11/2009 10:30:00

Improved liquidity, softening interest rates and price corrections have combined to create a positive outlook for the real estate industry in India, according to a new report - the latest analysis from Ernst & Young indicates that the market is well on the way to recovery with the residential sector leading the way...

After a rough phase that lasted for over a year, the Indian real estate industry is on the path of recovery.

The residential real estate segment, which is leading the recovery, has witnessed a revival in demand, primarily due to improved affordability,' the report says.

The fact that developers are focusing on self funded projects has created more confidence and their improved balance sheets has led to more projects being launched.

They are also concentrating more on affordable projects rather than luxury developments which are still hard to sell in the current economic climate, the report says.

But the commercial, retail and hospitality sectors in India are still struggling due to the subdued demand from the IT/ITeS sectors and multinationals, which are halting expansion plans in the country.

‘In the aftermath of the global economic slowdown, most retailers have put off their expansion plans in India, since the slowdown has resulted in a decline in their revenues and profitability,' analysts say.

Developers have also moved away from hospitality projects that have higher gestation periods.

‘This has resulted in the widening of the demand-supply gap in hotel rooms in the country,' the report adds.

Delhi is named as the most preferred destination for real estate developers and investors.

‘The key factors that have helped Delhi to retain its number one position are the fast-paced improvements in physical infrastructure such as the metro railway, modernisation of the International airport, road widening projects and dedicated efforts to make the ring road signal free,' the report points out.

Mumbai comes a close second but looses out on infrastructure.

Source: www.propertywire.com

India's property fee ceiling removed

Catherine Deshayes — 19/11/2009 10:20:00

Revenue department has approved a proposal to levy a flat 1% charge on property registrations with immediate effect, doing away with the Rs 30,000 ceiling...

Revenue Minister Narayan Rane lifted a stay on an earlier order of the government.

The decision on the 1% property registration fee was taken by then Revenue Minister Patangrao Kadam early this year but was stayed ahead of elections.

Source: Financial Express

India enjoying boost

Catherine Deshayes — 12/11/2009 11:16:00

Low interest rates, a resurgent stock market and growing confidence in the economy is boosting the real estate market in India but analysts are warning that a sharp increase in prices could put investors off...

‘The residential market, including the premium segment, has rebounded quicker than expected.

We are seeing 2007 level prices again and a robust demand for houses in the $1 million range,' said Anuj Puri, chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

According to property consultant Ashok Narang the demand is coming from both investors who want to let out their properties and people who want them as homes.

‘Projects in the suburbs are doing very well and buyers have started flocking to even under-construction projects where bookings are taking place. Earlier, banks were reluctant to lend to buyers for incomplete projects,' he said.

However, he warned that if prices spurted too fast, the market would slow down once again.

Aditi Vijayakar, executive director of Residential Services at Cushman & Wakefield, agreed.

‘The ideal graph should be gradual,' she said.

Many major developers have already put up their prices this year and the rest of the industry is concerned.

‘If residential realty rates rise at this juncture it will take the market back to a scenario of stalled sales, similar to what was prevalent during the end of 2008,' warned Pankaj Kapoor, CEO of real estate research firm, Liases Foras.

And realtor Ramprasad Padhi feels that there is not yet a significant revival in the market that could warrant price increases.

‘The marginal improvement in sales has been mistaken by some builders as signs of the next wave.

In reality, it has been a combination of pent-up demand and accumulated stock being disposed off at lower prices,' he said.

Potential buyers, he says, will and do find the new increased prices unjustified.

' But developers seem determined to test the market.

‘At present price increases seem to be limited to certain mid to high end projects, in preferred locations.

If the trend percolates down to a wider spectrum of market segments and locations, we may see prospective buyers once again display circumspection and hesitation to buy,' said Pawan Swamy, MD (west India) at consultants Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

India is at least a year away from the next real estate upswing, according to Chaitanya Parekh of the Soham Group.

‘In the second half of 2008, several developers started reducing the sizes of the units they offered, aiming for a different customer profile.

Now, if there is any increase in the price, the whole objective will be lost,' he said.

Source: www.propertwire.com

Rates on Indian property fall

Catherine Deshayes — 28/10/2009 11:05:00

Mortgage borrowing rates for those people seeing to buy property in India continues to fall, as lenders compete with each other for greater market share...

Both Development Credit Bank (DCB) and GIC Housing are now offering mortgages with rates starting from 7.95% - below the psychological 8% barrier.

"While affordable housing is the buzzword these days, the market would get a further boost if attractive financing options are available," Praveen Kutty, executive vice-president and head, retail banking, DCB, told the press.

Meanwhile, some other lenders, such as Central Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, have abolished mortgage arrangement fees on certain loans.

One mortgage expert, Lakshmi Vilas Bank, report that mortgage borrowers prefer to take out low interest bearing home loans from nationalised banks, rather than private banks.

VS Reddy, managing director, Lakshmi Vilas Bank, comments: "While there has been demand for home loans in the affordable home loan segment, the activity in the upper bracket has mostly revolved around restructuring or takeover of such accounts by another bank."

Source: www.homesoverseas.co.uk/news

Hamptons host India show

Catherine Deshayes — 22/10/2009 11:13:00

Hamptons International will host an exclusive India Property Show with the aim of attracting more non-Indian residents (NRI) living in the UK...

Hamptons International, the international estate agents, will be hosting an exclusive property event; "The India property Show" from 31st October - 1st November (10am-6pm) at its head office - 32 Grosvenor Square, London W1.

The India property event will uncover a range of India of new residential developments currently available to buy in India and will provide customers with the very latest information on India as well as the chance to discuss investment opportunities first hand with Hamptons International's leading property experts.

Working in partnership with market-leading developers across India including - Emaar MGF, Spire Edge, AIPL, ANR Infrastructure, Santa Fe Realty, Ace Projects, Godrej and Wadhawa - the Hamptons International "India property Show" will showcase the very best and latest property available.
Many of the properties in India have not yet been released to market - so the event will offer you the chance to be one of the first to preview them.

Rob Bruce, research manager, Hamptons International, comments: "India offers a very exciting opportunity to buy into the new economic powerhouse and the fourth largest economy in the world with GDP accelerating year on year. Forecast growth in the Indian economy and the recovery of Indian real estate are driving rental yields equal to those in London, with average yields as high as 4.7% for New Delhi and Mumbai apartments."

Dean Foley, international sales manager at Hamptons International, added: "India has always been a major market for Hamptons International, given the UK's long and close ties with this incredible country. We have certainly seen, over the last few months, an up-turn in the amount of transactions completing by our UK NRI clients due in part to long term growth plans and affordable real estate. We anticipate this interest to go from strength to strength over the coming months and years."

Source: www.homesoverseas.co.uk/news

Air India: more bad news

Catherine Deshayes — 22/10/2009 11:01:00

India's debt-ridden state-run airline Air India was hit by new bad publicity on Tuesday after the Times of India said that a commander of a plane on the airline's Mumbai-New York route reported for duty under the influence...

"One of the four pilots of the flight failed the breathalyzer test conducted by the airline doctors as part of pre-flight checks," an unnamed source told the newspaper.

The pilot was replaced, but flight AI-141 scheduled to leave on Monday at 12.45am (0615 AEDT) was delayed by 45 minutes.

In a separate incident, an Air India pilot and a co-pilot were arrested earlier this month after being accused of molesting an air hostess in the cockpit that sparked a scuffle with other crew members.

When asked about the latest report, Air India spokesman Jitender Bhargava said: "I cannot confirm anything. A colleague of mine is looking into the report."

Air India lost a billion US dollars in the financial year to March 2009.

Source: AFP

WHSmith looks to India

Catherine Deshayes — 16/10/2009 11:01:00

Retailer WH Smith said it would return up to 35 million pounds to investors, as it met forecasts with an 8 percent rise in full-year profit and announced plans to move into India...

The 217-year old seller of newspapers, books and stationery said on Thursday it would return cash through a share buyback and a 17 percent hike in the full-year dividend to 16.7 pence.

WH Smith also said it would open six units at Delhi airport in India next year, having started trials at Shannon in Ireland, Copenhagen, and Stockholm-Arlanda earlier this year.

"These trials really provide us with a very low risk way of seeing what opportunity there is," chief executive Kate Swann told reporters.

WH Smith, which trades from 565 high street stores and 490 outlets at airports, train stations, hospitals, motorway service stations, and work places, made a pretax profit before exceptional items of 82 million pounds in the year to August 31.

That compared with analysts' consensus forecast of 81.4 million pounds, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

WH Smith shares were up 1.6 percent at 505 pence at 10:20 a.m. British time, valuing the business at 779 million pounds, having earlier touched 521 pence. The stock has increased in value by 22 percent over the past six months, outperforming the FTSE All Share General Retailers Index by about 4 percent.

"The company's resilience in the face of difficult trading conditions and its leverage into a recovery, courtesy of its travel division, represent an attractive combination," said Altium Securities analyst David Stoddart.

WH Smith's full-year sales fell 1 percent to 1.34 billion pounds, while like-for-like sales fell 5 percent. The gross margin improved 220 basis points. A further 14 million pounds of cost savings have been identified. Swann's strategy is based on cutting costs and improving gross margin by focussing on more profitable products, better sourcing and better control of markdowns, rather than driving top line sales.

The mix of products has been re-balanced towards core categories and away from entertainment products -- CDs, DVDs, computer games and consoles.

WH Smith has a low average transaction value of about 5 pounds in its high street business and 3.50 pounds in travel, so has tended to be less impacted by recession.

"Trading conditions do remain tough, however we planned for them to be tough and we are well positioned to benefit further when consumer spending does recover, particularly in air (airports)," Swann said.

Swann, who has been with WH Smith since 2003, is seen as a possible chief executive at clothes, food and homewares retailer Marks & Spencer when Stuart Rose steps down as executive chairman next year.

Bookmaker Ladbrokes quotes her as a 12/1 shot. Swann refused to rule herself out. "I've never commented on speculation and I don't plan to start now," she said.

Source: www.execdigital.co.uk

India commercial ‘taking off'

Catherine Deshayes — 07/10/2009 11:52:00

A surge in demand for office space in India is set to revolutionize the commercial property market by 2013, it is predicted - according to an investment report from consultants Cushman & Wakefield, the pan Indian demand for office space is expected to grow to 196 million square feet...

Demand for retail space and in the hospitality sector is also expected to be high with analysts predicting growth of 43 million square feet in retail and a requirement for 690,000 room nights in the same time space.

‘Though the high growth trajectory of the previous years saw a setback during the global economic slowdown, the inherent strong economic fundamentals, low exposure to debt and state intervention, would help the sector to gradually return to the path of recovery and witness robust demand for real estate across sectors,' said Anurag Mathur, Managing Director, India, Cushman & Wakefield.

The report, Survival to Revival - Indian realty sector on the path to recovery, also indicates that demand for residential property will be over 7.5 million units by 2013 across all housing categories of which 85% is expected in the mid segment and affordable housing segment.

Of the total demand expected across India, 60% would be generated in the country's top seven cities. Mumbai is expected to witness the highest cumulative demand of 1.6 million units by 2013 whereas Bangalore and Hyderabad are expected to see the highest compounded annual growth rate of 14%.

Total office space demand will be down in 2009, the report says, but from 2010 onwards the markets will experience a healthier demand.

The highest demand is expected in Bangalore with the need for 34 million square feet followed by Chennai at 27 million square feet.

This increase in demand is largely due to improving economic conditions leading to positive market sentiments and growing corporate confidence, the report adds.

In the retail sector Bangalore in likely to see the highest demand with approximately 6.8 million square feet needed and Pune is expected to record the highest compounded annual growth of 51% in the retail segment.

NCR and Mumbai are expected to see the highest increases in demand for rooms due to the higher volume of business travellers in these cities.

Various initiatives taken by the Indian government to promote commercial and tourism activity in these locations will add to growth

Source: www.propertywire.com

India's ‘nanny state'

Catherine Deshayes — 29/09/2009 09:12:00

developers in India have hit out at draft proposals for a new law to regulate the country's real estate industry, claiming that it smacks of a nanny state...

The law is designed to bring the property industry under the control of a regulatory authority and create a tribunal to deal with complaints.

The government claims it will make the real estate markets more transparent and protect buyers and investors.

The regulatory authority will also require developers and real estate agents and brokers to be registered and they will be rated according to performance.

Those that violate the new regulations face stiff penalties.

Anyone starting construction or development of land without registration could be jailed for up to three years and face fines related to the cost of the project.

The new regulatory body will have the power to inspect documents.

It will also enforce the new rules including making sure that no deposit is taken without an agreement of sale, no mortgages to be issued without consent and that all developments adhere to plans and specifications.

Developers will have to register a project with the regulator it can be marketed and to this various documents including proof of land ownership and the mandatory licences will need to be provided to the regulator for registration.

Once verified, the entire information about the project will be available on the regulator's website that will be accessible to everybody.

The regulator will also scrutinise the advertisements and names of brokers.

‘The government is trying to play nanny to the home purchaser.

This draft has been prepared by people with good intent but with no knowledge of the nuances of the business,' declared Kumar Gera, chief executive of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI).

But the proposed law will protect home buyers from fraudulent builders, according to Ajit Krishnan, partner for real estate analysts Ernst & Young.

He said that property buyers will know exactly what they are buying.

Importantly, he added, the draft bill prohibits a developer from accepting an advance from a home buyer before the sale agreement is signed.

At present they often force buyers to pay 20 to 30 % of the cost of the property before making a sale agreement.

Gera said that he agreed that some aspects of the draft are welcome. ‘It is a good idea to have a sale agreement in place at the time of the first installment which will help both parties know what is on the table,' he conceded.

But he said other aspects are completely impractical. In particular his organisation is against the proposal that developers will need to submit a bank guarantee of 5% of the total cost of the project which will be encashed by the regulator if the project is not completed on time or violates the rules.

And it is against the suggestions that if a developer cannot complete a project on time, the allottee can ask for a full refund of the amount he has paid along with interest and the regulator will then take over the incomplete project and appoint another agency to complete it.

‘The bank guarantee will push up the cost of the project and the provision of taking over incomplete project is completely impractical,' Gera claimed.

Source: www.propertywire.com

Shotgun bride

Catherine Deshayes — 25/09/2009 10:18:00

A 26-year-old American tourist travelling in India hitched a ride in a rickshaw last week and married the driver a few days later, a report said today...

Whitney from Chicago met her prince charming in Jaipur in Rajasthan, a state west of the capital famous for its stately palaces, after hailing a motorised rickshaw and hiring the driver for her stay in the city, the Mail Today newspaper said.

"On the third day, he surprised me by popping the question," Whitney told the paper. "'I want to spend the rest of my life with you', he told me. I fell in love."

After meeting last Saturday they were married on Wednesday in a simple ceremony. Whitney was pictured in the paper, standing with new husband Harish Hotala, wearing a traditional sari that covered her head.

The paper said Hotala was "a cabbie with a difference," however. "Though a school dropout, he is fluent in English and owns three autorickshaws," it said.

Whitney, whose surname wasn't given by the paper, is to fly back to the US on September 30 to face her parents.

"My father was surprised but my mother took it sportingly," she said.

Source: www.theage.com.au

East of the sun

Catherine Deshayes — 14/09/2009 10:13:00

With residential demand on rise once more, particularly in key destinations such as New Delhi and Mumbai, India property prices in these regions have appreciated by up to 15 per cent in recent months, as developers seek to cash in, by increasing prices across their projects...

Experts monitoring the Indian property market fear that the there recent hike in property prices could adversely affect demand.

Vikas Chimakurthy of Realty fund Kotak Investment Advisors said: "There was a substantial demand, especially in the mature markets, after prices dropped a few months ago.

"Today, potential customers are not willing to buy properties at these prices."

Abhishek Lodha, director at Lodha Developers, a Mumbai-based company which has property projects in and around Delhi, says that recent residential price hikes in Delhi and Mumbai "is not much and is the result of the improved market conditions," he said.

India's largest property firm, DLF, also confirmed that property prices being increased. "Yes, there has been a price increase though it is still limited to some projects nearing completion," said DLF executive director Rajeev Talwar.

Source: www.homesoverseas.co.uk/news

Office-al growth in India

Catherine Deshayes — 07/09/2009 11:00:00

The office property market in key business districts in India is experiencing an increase in confidence with banks and financial services companies buying but the IT and ITeS sectors are yet to enter the growth spree as they are still depressed by the global economic downturn, according to analysts...

Delhi and Mumbai are seeing the most growth. For example, the Bandra Kurla Complex and Kalina districts of Mumbai saw overall vacancy levels rise to 29.4%, while vacancy levels in Noida in the National Capital Region hovered at around 40%, according to the CB Richard Ellis Asia Market View for the second quarter of 2009.

The report said the election of a new government and falling interest rates improved local business sentiment during the second quarter in India.

But despite these small signs of improvement, cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore also witnessed a slide in office rentals due to businesses moving to alternative locations as a cost cutting measure and the retail sector is still negative.

‘While the second quarter of 2009 observed some improvement in the office-space market with levels of enquiries going up, vacancy levels continued to remain high, said Anshuman Magazine, CBRE Chairman and MD for South Asia.

‘The fall in capital values has encouraged more companies to explore and evaluate opportunities for buying rather than leasing the required office space,' he added.

The report concludes that overall the Asian market has started showing signs of stability in the second quarter of 2009 but companies remain focused on reducing costs and tightening their real estate expenditure.

It predicts that the markets are expected to remain soft in the short to medium term with landlords of buildings in secondary office destinations struggled with the consequences of speculative overbuilding. Landlords are having to increase incentives to recruit tenants.

Suman Memani of Religare Securities said that the commercial market is now following the growth spurt of the residential sector but slowly.

His firm's research shows that banks and financial services are leading the buying spree. But sectors like IT are still experiencing de-growth and is therefore the one looking for cheaper options. Retail is even worse with a negative outlook, he added. He added that improvements will be gradual as the economy gets back on track.

Source: www.propertywire.com

Full speed ahead for India

Catherine Deshayes — 01/09/2009 11:40:00

New figures have revealed that India's economy is still expanding faster than most other countries.

The figures grew 6.1% in the second three months of the year compared with the same period last year, which was slightly better than had been expected.

The official gross domestic product figure was down from the 7.8% growth seen in the second quarter of 2008. Although growth has slowed from last year, the economy is still expanding faster than most other countries.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has projected growth of "six percent plus" for the financial year to March 2010. That is down from the 6.7% logged in the previous full financial year.

Agriculture ‘a dampener'

"For the year as a whole, the growth should be around 6.5% to 7% as recovery is showing elsewhere also," said Amol Agrawal, economist at IDBI Gilts in Mumbai.

"But agriculture is a big dampener and the growth forecast is again based on global recovery. If that stumbles again, then one can't say."

During the quarter the manufacturing sector expanded 3.4% from a year earlier, while farm output grew by just 2.4%, compared to 2.7% in the first three months of 2009.

The economy has been hit recently by the weakest rainfall since 1972, with drought-like conditions affecting 40% of the country's districts.

Source: BBC News

Solar for India

Catherine Deshayes — 20/08/2009 11:53:00

As envisaged in the National Action Plan on Climate Change, India is soon going to embark on national solar mission in a big way. Considering that the country presently generates less than 10 MW, the target of 100,000 MW by 2030 is truly ambitious...

In one of the biggest pushes for solar power in the world, the Prime Minister's council on climate change gave the green signal to the Indian National Solar Mission.

It has two major components: solar power generation and manufacture of equipment to achieve it.

India's capacity to generate solar power is negligible now: less than 10 megawatts (MW). The mission aims at 20,000 MW by 2020.

Thereafter, it would aim at producing a tenth of the country's power from solar.

This would amount to 100,000 MW by 2030. The mission aims to increase domestic capacity to manufacture solar power equipment.

For this, it plans to have in place by 2017 manufacturing capacity of 5,000 MW per year.

A part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change, the mission will need funds to the tune of Rs 91,684 crore.

This would cover the costs of regulatory policies, incentives, research and development.

A Solar Energy Authority of India will be created to implement the mission autonomously.

The Union Ministry for New and Renewable Energy will support it. There is also a proposal to set up an autonomous Solar Energy Commission.

The mission draft will be finalised, after taking into account comments of the members of the Prime Minister's council.

Incentives: money and regulation

Several regulatory and fiscal incentives have been laid out to ensure the success of this project which spans three phases.

Under regulatory incentives, power supply firms will have to purchase a portion of their power from solar sources. They will be entitled to a higher fixed incentive to ease the burden of high prices.

Under the fiscal incentives, the solar power generators supplying to the grid (utility scale plants) will be entitled to tax cuts and exemption from customs and excise duties. The mission details a funding roadmap.

Its calculations rely on certain assumptions: it expects costs of creating the infrastructure to drop from Rs 20 crore per MW now to Rs 6-8 crore per MW by 2020.

It anticipates a gradual drop in the tariffs for solar power generation - from the current Rs 18 per kilowatt hour (kWh) to Rs 5.6 per kWh by 2020. As the tariff falls, the fixed incentive would also be reduced.

By 2020, solar power generation cost is expected to decrease to levels of all other energy sources, which are expected to increase at an average rate of 3per cent per annum (they are Rs 3-5 per kWh now).

The success of the mission will depend on trends following the projected path.

Who will pay?

The transition to solar power will be expensive. The proportion of money to be raised domestically and that expected from multilateral investments is unclear.

The project is silent about the source of funds. There are suggestions that the money should come from developed countries, to pay for their historical emissions burden.

The mission also lacks a concerted push for solar thermal power (as opposed to solar photovoltaic power), the next big area of growth.

There is research to show that solar thermal power is more efficient and cost-effective than photovoltaics.

India already offers more incentives for photovoltaics than solar thermal. Several energy analysts see solar thermal as an answer to India's quest for low-carbon growth.

Source: One World

Business bomb hoax

Catherine Deshayes — 19/08/2009 10:11:00

A businessman running behind schedule triggered a bomb scare on an plane in a desperate attempt to catch his flight, Indian police said today...

Vijay Khandelwal, 35, was stuck in a traffic jam on the way to New Delhi airport last week when he realised he would miss the IndiGo plane to Kolkata unless it was held up, senior police officer Satyendra Garg said.

Khandelwal was arrested after he confessed to making a hoax call on his mobile phone.

"Just to delay the flight's departure, he telephoned the call centre of the airline and announced there was a bomb in the aircraft," Mr Garg said.

Security officials at the airport were alerted, and began an major emergency operation to search passengers and luggage.

Police arrested Khandelwal by tracing his mobile number and taking a statement from his taxi driver, who had overheard him making the hoax call and refused to drop him at the airport.

Authorities declared the emergency over after 90 minutes and the plane took off four hours late - without Khandelwal.

Source: www.theage.com.au

Bollywood star singled out

Catherine Deshayes — 17/08/2009 11:20:00

The Indian government said yesterday the United States must explain why Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan was questioned at a New York airport, after the actor suggested he was singled out as a Muslim...

Khan, who was interviewed by officials at Newark Liberty International Airport, told an Indian television station by telephone that Khan "is a Muslim name and I think the name is common on their checklist".

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told reporters that India would "take the issue (up) with the United States government strongly".

"Such incidents involving Indians due to their religion or nationality should not happen," he said. "We will not accept it."

The minister's intervention came after India's Sunday newspapers railed against the treatment of Khan, who has a huge following in the Hindu-majority country.

"Anger erupts over Shahrukh's insult," read the front page of the Hindi-language Dainik Jagran, while the Mail Today declared "Humiliating religious profiling of iconic star at US airport shocks India."

But US officials said that Khan, India's leading screen heartthrob, was subject only to routine procedures when he landed on Friday.

US Customs and Border Protection agency spokesman Kevin Corsaro told AFP that one reason Khan, 43, had been delayed was that his luggage was lost.

"The inspection process may include a more in-depth interview and baggage examination," the agency said in a statement, adding the incident had lasted little more than an hour.

Khan, who took part in celebrations in Chicago on Saturday marking India's Independence Day, said the way he had been treated left him "angry and humiliated".

Fox Star Studios has recently struck a deal to finance and distribute "My Name is Khan", a movie due out next year starring Khan as an Indian Muslim setting out on a journey across the US.

It features the contentious subject of racial profiling after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Airport searches are a sensitive privacy issue in India, where similar outrage erupted last month when former president Abdul Kalam, also a Muslim, was frisked by US airline staff in Delhi before boarding a flight to New York.

Kalam was searched despite protocol at Indian airports exempting dignitaries from security checks, and the airline later apologised.

Fellow Bollywood stars sprang to Khan's defence at the weekend and told of their experiences at the hands of US immigration officials.

Irrfan Khan, who played the police inspector in last year's hit film Slumdog Millionaire, said that US screening staff seemed "threatened by any Muslim passport".

"I can understand America's need for caution after 9/11 but they also need to be a little more thoughtful about their methods," he said, adding he had been detained three times for questioning in various parts of the world.

Neil Nitin Mukesh said he had been detained in New York by an officer who appeared to believe he was too fair-skinned to be Indian and may have a false passport.

Shahrukh Khan's troubles were "yet another example of American paranoia post-9/11", director Kabir Khan said. "It saddens me to say this but I don't think the US will ever be cured of Islamophobia."

The Press Trust of India news agency reported an effigy of US President Barack Obama was burnt in the city of Allahabad in protest at Khan's ordeal.

US Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer attempted to calm the furore by issuing a statement on Saturday describing Khan as a "global icon" who was a welcome guest in the United States.

Source: AFP

Tax breaks for India

Catherine Deshayes — 05/08/2009 10:19:00

Real estate developers in India are to get tax breaks if they complete projects by March 2010 as part of a major stimulus drive by the Government to boost the country's recovering economy...

The Government will also extend tax breaks for industrial park schemes and road projects to stimulate the economy and lift growth to 8 to 9per cent by the end of 2010, the finance department confirmed.

Another plan to provide a 1per cent interest subsidy on home property loans up to a million rupees for one year is expected to boost the real estate sector even further.

The news comes on the back of predictions from the Central Bank that the Indian economy will grow at a faster pace than forecast earlier this year. It had been thought it would grow 5.7per cent but now it is expected to be nearer 6.5per cent and Pranab Mukherjee, finance minister, said that it should reach 8 to 9per cent by 2010.

'In India, the economic recovery has begun and I am confident that we will be able to reach the high growth rate of 8 to 9per cent by the end of 2010,' he said.

Because of this it was necessary to help the real estate and construction sectors as they play a key part in the economy, he added.

The confidence is echoed in the banking world. 'The macroeconomic outlook of the Indian economy, based on various business expectation surveys indicates that the earlier decline in overall business sentiment has reversed,' the central bank said in a report.

The bank, which has slashed interest rates six times since last October, is expected to keep them low to help the recovering economy.

'The RBI's key interest rates look set to remain unchanged for some time. The expansionary budget and prospect of a pickup in wholesale prices in the months ahead makes a near term rate cut unlikely,' explained Robert Prior-Wandesforde, a senior economist at HSBC Holdings in Singapore.

Source: www.propertywire.com

Feeling frisky

Catherine Deshayes — 24/07/2009 10:25:00

Continental Airlines apologised on Wednesday for frisking former Indian President Abdul Kalam during a security check in April, after details of the event caused uproar in parliament...

The airline said it had offered a formal apology to Kalam, 77, who was subject to a security screening at New Delhi's international airport on his way to the United States.

"Our intention was never to offend Dr. Kalam or the sentiments of the people of India. Continental Airlines takes great pride and is honoured to have flown a respectable leader such as Dr. Kalam," the Houston-based carrier said in a statement.

The incident sparked outrage among members of parliament from all parties, with Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel calling the frisking "unpardonable" and ordering an inquiry.

On Tuesday police registered a case against the Continental staff involved in the security check for violating protocol, which exempts VIPs from screenings.

Patel said the Government had told all airlines operating out of New Delhi to cooperate with regulations.

Continental said it maintained its "commitment to comply with regulations mandated by local authorities" but that there were some circumstances where rules imposed by US and Indian aviation authorities were not "compatible."

Kalam, a missile scientist who became a national hero after overseeing successful tests in 1998 that turned India into a nuclear power, served as president from 2002 to 2007.

Source: www.theage.com.au

India welcoming investors

Catherine Deshayes — 20/07/2009 10:33:00

The Government in India wants to make it easier for foreign property investors and in particular for them to put their money into projects that relate to the hospitality sector and tourism...

It is looking at changing the rules to allow overseas investors to be part of smaller real estate projects. At present they are limited to investing in projects that cover a minimum of 25 acres.

It is hoped it will encourage foreign investment in property developments in places like Mumbia, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderbad where it is generally not possible to find 25 acres of land for development.

The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), which sets out the guidelines for direct foreign is keen on attracting more investors. It is proposing to waive minimum capitalisation for development projects which have hospitality and tourism facilities such as hotels, restaurants or entertainment facilities for visitors.

The waiver would also be available if 50per cent of the built-up area in a project is devoted to hotel and tourism businesses, such as food courts, resorts and restaurants and if 20per cent of the total built-up area is used for hotel rooms.

The property industry welcomed the initiative and said they are long overdue. These steps, when implemented, will provide relief to high-value projects in cities and projects being developed for the tourism sector.

The move comes as a relief at a time when the real estate industry is struggling with high levels of debts, strict lending conditions and a general slowdown in business.

Meanwhile there are signs that the hard hit commercial property sector is on the cusp of recovery. Values have fallen by up to 30 per cent as many corporates have downsized and are not enthusiastic about paying high rents.

But according to Anurag Bhatnagar, associate director at DTZ, although those with expansion plans are still staying on the sidelines they are making future plans and when they start spending recovery will follow.

Source: www.propertywire.com

Just 1,000 tigers left in India

Catherine Deshayes — 20/07/2009 10:27:00

The Indian Government admitted this week that nobody has seen a Royal Bengal tiger in Panna National Park since January...

Only a year ago there were calculated to be 24 tigers in the park, one of India's 27 tiger reserves.

A century ago, India had about 40,000 tigers. By 1988, as a result of extensive hunting and poaching, there were just 4,500 left. Now the true figure is probably 1,000.

Panna, located near Khajuraho, is the second reserve in which there are now no tigers. Sariska National Park in Rajasthan lost all its tigers in 2005.

The decline is said to be largely down to poachers serving an insatiable demand for tiger bones, claws and skin in China, Taiwan and Korea, where they are used in traditional medicine. Other factors include electric fences erected by farmers, illegal logging and fights between male tigers over diminishing territory.

Several years ago I visited the forests of Bandhavgarh National Park, a few hours' drive from Panna in remote Madhya Pradesh . The park contains about 45 tigers and offers the best chance in the world of seeing these kings of the jungle in the wild.

I saw six different tigers, including a magnificent young male. I followed through the jungle on the back of an elephant as the tiger marked his range. Eventually he strolled right up to us and dropped at our feet. It was a moving experience - his black-striped pelt was beautiful, so shiny and silken, his paws were huge, the size of dinner plates, and his large yellow eyes seemed to look straight through us. He was too young to fear, too old to be shy. Now he may be dead.

Even at relatively well-run Bandhavgarh there has been poaching. Just before my visit a gang had been caught with seven tiger skins. I was told that the men involved were from Tamil Nadu in the south and that they had struck - with local help - on the orders of a Nepalese-based gang.

It was said that the villager who led the poachers to the tigers was paid £100 for his services - a sum it is hard to resist in what is one of the poorest parts of rural India.

An official Government census of the tiger population in all India's reserves is being carried out this October; the results could make very sad reading.

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

The India effect

Catherine Deshayes — 17/07/2009 10:38:00

Although India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, it is also facing a growing budget deficit. The recent release of India's troubled budget could lead to less growth than expected, so read on to find out what India's troubles mean for the global economy...

When India unveiled its annual budget on July 6th, it immediately caused a sharp drop in the rupee, as well as a 5.8 per cent decline in the benchmark BSE Sensex stock index that had soared 55 per cent so far this year.

The sharp reaction wasn't a surprise: Since it including nothing about privatization, and outlined a deficit that widens to dangerous levels, the budget was nothing but bad news for investors.

Russia, by virtue of its myriad economic travails and poor overall performance, faces an equally dour near-term outlook. Given those two laggards, is it possible that the Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) "BRIC" group of exciting emerging-market players will narrow the to the "BC" - meaning investors should focus their attentions on Brazil and China alone?

Insights on India's Economic Travails

Investors had hoped that the thumping electoral victory for the Congress Party in May would have opened the way for further financial reform and privatization, but new Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is an old Congress Party warhorse left over from the days of state control.

Mukherjee was previously finance minister under Indira Gandhi in 1982-84, a period of state-controlled economy and sluggish economic growth that took place well before the Indian economic liberalization began in 1991.

The new budget confirmed that investors' hopes of the new Congress-led Government are likely to be dashed. It increased the deficit further - to 6.8 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) - raised state spending by a startling 36 per cent, and boosted subsidies for food and petrol by an astonishing 55 per cent. Since the budget also increased the target for state and local Government budget deficits - to four per cent of GDP - an overall Indian state sector deficit in excess of 10 per cent of GDP seems assured.

India isn't the United States, in which such large deficits can easily be financed - or at least can be for a time. Moody's Investors Service (NYSE: MCO) rates India's domestic debt as a Ba2 - a "junk" rating - and the country is already running a significant balance-of-payments deficit.

India has foreign-exchange reserves of £136 billion, so one year of a £58 billion budget deficit (plus about another £37 billion at the state level) can probably be financed, but if there was an overrun - not impossible, particularly if organic economic growth does not resume - the strain on India's foreign exchange reserves would probably become unbearable.

Most important, such large budget deficits might well lead to a substantial "crowding out" effect in the Indian domestic market, in which Indian businesses find it difficult to raise money.

Unlike in the United States, the Reserve Bank of India cannot just buy Government bonds to prop up the market; Indian inflation is already running at 8.7 per cent, and any "monetization" of the Government deficit by the central bank would push it well into double digits.

India-watchers have seen this move before - periodically, until reform began in 1991, and sped up after 1998. From 1947 to 1991, whenever economic growth picked up, the Government would attempt to spend all the extra money that was being generated by the tax system and the deficit would become impossible to finance.

India's economic sluggishness in the period to 1990 - when economic growth peaked at around three per cent, or one per cent per capita, while other Asian countries were racing ahead - actually spawned a controversial and derogatory term, known as the "Hindu rate of growth," which spawned even more angst when it was attributed to cultural difficulties.

With the growth of the last two decades, we now know this to be nonsense: India can perfectly well grow as rapidly as China if it wants to. The obstacle is India's Government, and that's an impediment that's not going to disappear anytime soon.

Written by Martin Hutchinson for www.nuwireinvestor.com

Picture by wili_hybrid

Udaipur drying out

Catherine Deshayes — 16/07/2009 10:41:00

The number of visitors to the Indian city of Udaipur have fallen sharply after a lack of rainfall left several of the city's lakes almost completely dry...

Visitor numbers are reportedly down by up to 30 per cent, while 40 per cent of the city's 2.5 million population earn a living through tourism.

The luxury Lake Palace, which is normally surrounded by the waters of Lake Pichola, has abandoned its fleet of boats and is now using a narrow canal, with room for just one vessel, to collect guests. The hotel appeared in the James Bond film Octopussy.

Visitors to Jag Mandir, another island palace on Lake Pichola, are now being transferred by jeep across the dry lake bed.

The situation is blamed on recent hot weather, where temperatures have risen as high as 40°C.

Although the lakes tend to dry out to some extent prior to the monsoon season, rainfall has been below average for the last two years, while this year's monsoon, which usually begins in June or early July, is yet to arrive.

"The lake is a vital part of the city's attraction," said Neil Sealy, a Spokesman for TransIndus, a travel agent that specialises in holidays to South Asia. "We are informing our clients about the low water levels, and it will probably influence where people will travel."

He added that the majority of tourists visit the region during the winter, when water levels have been replenished.

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

World at her feet

Catherine Deshayes — 13/07/2009 11:08:00

The £2,500 Dolman Travel Book Award was awarded this week to Alice Albinia for "Empires of the Indus" (John Murray, £9.99), an account of a 2,000-mile journey along the river through Pakistan, Afghanistan and Kashmir to its source in Tibet...

The debut book was judged to be "a work in the great tradition of travel writing, an immensely learned and intelligent account of a brave journey, effortlessly moving from the epic to the intimate".

The annual award, organised by the Authors' Club, is sponsored by one of its members, the Reverend Dr William Dolman. The other shortlisted titles were "Bandit Roads" (Little, Brown) by Richard Grant, "The Island that Dared" by Dervla Murphy (Eland), "Fishing In Utopia" by Andrew Brown (Granta), Street Without a Name by Kapka Kassabova (Portobello) and Travels on the Dance Floor by Grevel Lindop (Andre Deutsch).

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Advice for India

Catherine Deshayes — 10/07/2009 10:27:00

Banks in India are urging property developers to stop increasing real estate prices as it could stall a recovery in the market...

There is considerable disquiet that the developers have been taking advantage of a pick up in sales to increase prices on middle range properties and fears that it could put off would be buyers.

Some go as far as to claim that the developers are merely intent on lining their own pockets and not working together to help the property market in the country recover.

It also raises doubts on recent pledges by developers to concentrate on more affordable projects.

'Certain top-rung developers have already started increasing prices, especially in mid-income projects, following the recent pick up in sales. Besides, with liquidity no longer a constraint, certain developers are seeking once again to increase their margins,' said Deepak Parekh, Chairman of HDFC.

He added that the real estate market had just begun correcting itself and it would be 'extremely unfortunate if the developers were to increase property prices at this juncture'.

S. Sridhar, Chairman and Managing Director of the Central Bank of India described the move as short sighted and that the developers are naïve if they think that by raising prices they would stimulate demand.

'It is difficult to generalise but as a whole there is some more scope for downward adjustment in prices, or in certain places it should plateau. That will stimulate the demand,' he said.

'If the real estate players revise the prices upwards, it will stall the recovery process. Demand for housing loans has picked up among the banks but the situation is still fragile,' he added.

But Anand Gupta, general secretary of the Builders Association of India said that when developers reduced prices they did not see a sudden surge in demand.

Source: www.propertywire.com

India inching upwards

Catherine Deshayes — 09/07/2009 10:47:00

developers in India have stopped offering discounts on properties and in some cases are even increasing prices as demand rises...

Rising sales are also prompting some developers to return to the luxury end of the real estate market which had stalled in the economic downturn.

'Prices are likely to inch upwards in the coming months in some markets,' said Kumar Gera, chairman of the Confederation of Real Estate Developer's Association of India.

But he added that even an increase in prices will still leave many developments cheaper than they were at the peak of the market a year ago. He estimated that the property crash saw prices fall 25 to 30 per cent but proposed increases in coming months would be around 10 to 15 per cent.

The prices increases vary. Unitech has increased prices marginally, by some 2per cent in its Gurgaon projects but Mumbai based developer Lodha Group has upped prices by 10 to 15 per cent. A Lodha spokesman confirmed that prices had gone up in luxury projects launched in March. 'We have marginally increased prices every month for these projects since their launch. But the market is in a good spot and the response is still good,' said director Abhisheck Lodha.

Bangalore-based firm Brigade Enterprises cut its prices by 15 per cent in April but has now increased them by three to five per cent and said that it plans to continue doing so at regular intervals. 'We are hoping that in one year's time, prices will be back to the peak levels of 2007 to 2008,' said Chairman and Managing Director M.R. Jaishanker.

However, discounts through brokers have not yet disappeared from the market. Developers have increased the commission offered to brokers from three per cent maximum to five to six per cent. Brokers in turn are offering a discount of 1.5 to two per cent on the price of property to buyers.

'These are the same measures developers and brokers adopted to create a price bubble during the boom years. Demand has not risen to an extent that it can fuel a price increase,' said S.G. Maheshwari, a Mumbai-based property consultant.

Aditi Vijayakar, residential executive director at property consultants Cushman and Wakefield is not convinced the market will carry the price increases. 'Right now it is a fairly confused market. Rates have more or less bottomed out but there needs to be substantial amount of sales before buyers are convinced price increases are justified. I think the real estate market will be flat for some time,' she said.

Source: www.propertywire.com

India on the up

Catherine Deshayes — 08/07/2009 09:36:00

India property sales levels have risen by as much as 25-30 per cent since April, following 10-15 per cent growth in Q1 2009, in light of lower interest rates and residential property prices, as well as the construction sector's greater focus of affordable housing...

This information was obtained by the Economic Times, who spoke to a number of banks, property developers and real estate consultancies.

Much of India's property sector has struggled for the past year or so due to the global financial crisis, which left several house builders struggling to adapt to deteriorating market conditions.

Residential developers were left with high-end apartments which had no buyers. Consequently, they have been forced to slash prices by up to 45per cent since the peak of 2007.

The fall in property prices has increased affordability levels across much of India, which has led to increased demand for property in India.

Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj says that sales across the mid-to-high income segments have conservatively risen by around 25 per cent.

Delhi-based Omaxe reports that sales levels are up by 30 per cent since 2009.

India's largest property developer DLF says it has sold almost 1,500 flats in various cities since April.

Rival Unitech has sold over 4,000 residential units in the last two and a half months.

Hiranandani Developers report that they have sold around 7,000 apartments across the industry, mainly in Mumbai suburbs, over the last two months.

Source: www.homesoverseas.co.uk/news

India awaits change

Catherine Deshayes — 07/07/2009 10:23:00

Residential property sales in India are trickling back in some sections of the market, but industry watchers say a rebound is months away as buyers in the world's second-most populous country await further price corrections...

Developers have begun new projects after a year-long hiatus and are also swapping older premium project proposals for cheaper ones to restart sales as they try to beat a severe cash crunch.

High interest rates and the general economic slowdown have kept buyers away and funding from investors has dried up. But now a spate of interest rate cuts and an injection of optimism are encouraging developers to focus on new projects aimed at middle income buyers rather than re-marketing existing ones and this is the key to the future prosperity of the real estate market, analysts claims.

But they are not expecting a sudden turnaround. 'While the market has turned up, I don't expect it to be back to 2007 or 2008 levels for another six or eight months,' said Rajesh Goenka, Chairman of Axiom Estates real estate agency.

The countries three big developers - Unitech, Parsvnath and DLF - all say they are now concentrating on affordable property rather than the luxury end of the market.

In the first quarter of 2009 half of the homes sold were in 114 new projects of the 2,000 available for sale, according to estimates by realty rating and research agency, Liases Foras.

Despite a cautious revival in demand for homes, the sales taking place now are not spread evenly despite prices falling by 40per cent from their peak for under-construction houses mainly in southern and northern India, analysts added.

But demand in the real estate market is expected to turn positive in 2010 due to improvement in affordability, steady economic growth and greater liquidity, according to a report from Crisil research.

'Accelerated growth in the Indian economy, the recovery of the global economy, improved liquidity and an expected fall in interest rates are key factors that will signal demand revival in the residential segment. This segment is likely to see a much faster revival due to a strong underlying demand for housing and supply coming at attractive price points,' said Sudhir Nair.

Source: http://www.propertywire.com/

What's next for India?

Catherine Deshayes — 01/07/2009 10:06:00

Providing more affordable properties and the redevelopment of slums is the key to the future of the real estate industry in India, it is claimed...

A series of recommendations sent to the India Government in the run up to the Union Budget, emphasize the need to expand this sector of the real estate industry which could add 1 to 1.5 per cent to gross domestic product.

The Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association of India says the Government should take the lead. Although some developers are moving into providing more low cost property, it is not sufficient, says the real estate industry organisation.

'We appeal to the Government to create an impetus and facilitate affordable housing,' said President Santosh Kumar Rungta. He called for it to be put at the centre of public policy.

The organisation wants fiscal incentives for encouraging affordable mass housing in the 300 to 600 square foot and up to 1,000 square foot segments, by providing subsidy in interest payable by the property buyer.

It is estimated that there is an urban housing shortage of 24.7 million units almost all of which is in economically weaker sections and lower income groups. 'Property ownership is critical for this segment not only for economic reasons but also for the health of the nation from a social perspective in terms of stability, law and order, education and employment,' Rungta added.

Secondly CREDA wants direct and indirect taxes to boost slum re-development and this will in fit in with a Governmental pledge to make urban India slum free in five years. It also recommends increasing deductions on interest paid on self-occupied residential property as amounts were fixed six years ago and real estate prices have increased massively since then.

The industry body also believes that incentives should be given to senior citizens for purchase of flats for themselves and also to children who purchase residential units for their aged parents. It recommends a 100 per cent interest deduction on home loans taken out by senior citizens or by their children if they opt to buy a second home in the joint name of parents who are over 55 years old as well as no capital gains tax for senior citizens/their children on sale of these residential units.

It is a chance for the Government to boost the professionalism of the industry as well, according to Koshy Varghese, Managing Director of Bangalore based developer Value Designbuild.

'The property sector must be given the status of an industry thereby allowing access to cheaper credit and easier access to loans. Bank finance is still very expensive,' he said.

Source: www.propertywire.com

Project pioneers in Mumbai

Catherine Deshayes — 29/06/2009 10:29:00

According to a Rediff report, the unregulated housing market in Mumbai recently underwent a transformation by acquiring an organised rental sector...

The project is a joint effort by real estate developer Housing Development & Infrastructure (HDIL) and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

The project will provide rental housing to some 43,000 low-income families in Mumbai. The development will include 525 acres of land in Virar, which is the northern suburb of Mumbai.

The properties will be owned by real estate investment trusts (REITs) or corporates. While this type of organised rental housing is a common phenomenon in developed countries such as the UK, it will be the first of its kind in India.

The project is located about two kilometres from the railway station in Virar, and is planned for construction in four separate phases. While the first 10,000 units will be completed by March 2011, the entire project will be finished by 2015.

The layout of the units was approved by the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO), with a 160 square foot carpet area each and combined in 14-storey buildings. According to the article, these high rise buildings meet the standard norms for such structures and are also designed to offer resistance to earthquakes and tremors.

The demand for rental housing in the country is significant, according to Pranay Vakil, the chairman of Knight Frank India, a real estate consulting firm. Mr Vakil also warned that infrastructure should be developed properly in order to prevent the structures from becoming "vertical slums".

Source: www.hotproperty.co.uk

India increases labour rates

Catherine Deshayes — 25/06/2009 11:09:00

Indian property developers in The City of Mumbai have announced that they are going to increase their labour rates, following a recent recovery in the stock market, and signs that property investors are starting to return to the market...

However, the industry move has received criticism, as existing demand for property in India remains weak, compared to this time last year, despite the fact that residential prices have fallen by up to 30 per cent since their peak last year.

Many experts project that many developers need to cut their rates by a further 15 per cent rather than raise them.

Editorial comment:
"It is understandable that Indian developers want to make up for lost revenue during the economic downturn, by hiking up their rates, especially as more global investors are seeking to invest in BRIC (China, India, Russia, and Brazil) nations.

"But many experts project that developers should cut their rates by a further 15 per cent, rather than raise them. Consequently, new-build property prices in the city will also have to be raised inline with construction rates, making property less affordable. This could slowdown any potential cyclical upturn in Mumbai's housing market."

Source: www.homesoverseas.co.uk/news

India ‘slum free' in 5 years

Jude Buttle — 10/06/2009 10:11:00

The Government of India last week announced an ambitious target of making India slum free within the next five years, with the launch of a special India housing scheme for urban poor and slum-dwellers...

President Pratibha Patil said, "My Government's effort will be to create a slum free India in five years through the Rajiv Awas Yojana (the name of the housing scheme)."

Patil said the existing schemes for affordable property in India, including interest subsidy offer, would be merge into the Rajiv Awas Yojana project.

"The scheme for affordable housing through partnership and the scheme for interest subsidy for urban housing would be dovetailed into the Rajiv Awas Yojana and will offer property rights to people living in slum areas," the President said.

The Government's attempts to make India slum free in five years will not be an easy one. According to the ministry's data, urban housing shortage is around 25 million units and most of it, around 98 per cent, is in the low-income group and economically weaker section category.

Source: www.homesoverseas.co.uk/news

Hotels look east

Catherine Deshayes — 13/05/2009 09:00:00

Hotel property companies are looking East, particularly to China and India, for growth as traditional locations suffer from falling revenues due to holidaymakers and business travellers cutting back to save money in the global downturn...

But growth from emerging markets will take time and the new locations still only make up a small proportion of overall businesses, according to analysts.

'Worldwide, our major locations right now where most of the growth is are China, India and the Middle East,' said Ed Fuller, President and Managing Director of Marriott Lodging International.

China, the world's fastest-growing economy, is expected to expand 6.5 per cent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, down from nine per cent growth last year but ahead of the 2.8 per cent contraction forecast for the US in 2009.

US based Marriott, which manages the Ritz Carlton and Renaissance brands, plans to open 130 hotels in the next four years outside North America, where it manages 350 hotels. Half of the openings will be in China, India and the United Arab Emirates.

France based Accor, Europe's largest hotelier, said that it plans to more than triple the number of its hotels in the Middle East. It already has 25 of its budget Ibis hotels in China and plans to open 20 more this year and about 10 per year over the next few years.

Patrick Scholes, an Analyst at US based FBR Capital Markets said many hotel groups are looking to tap into expected higher economic growth rates in emerging markets. But offsetting weak home markets with growth from China, India and the Middle East will take time.

'The exposure of companies such as Marriott to countries like India or China is growing but it still represents a small portion of their overall business,' said Scholes.

Robert O'Hanlon, tourism, hospitality and leisure Partner at consultant Deloitte Middle East said, 'There is genuine belief that markets like China and India are underserved and in terms of business tourism and hospitality tourism there are opportunities for growth.'

Source: www.propertywire.com

Irish unsure about Indian deal

Catherine Deshayes — 17/04/2009 09:24:00

In the last two years Dublin-based investment company Kuvera has invested in two off-plan developments based near Delhi, according to a report from The Irish Times...

The properties, numbering 294, on the Orchard View and Mountain View apartments developments are said to remain in a state of incompletion and investors do not know what has happened to their money. The prices of the apartments range from £30,000 and £37,000.

Although the owner of the company, Mr Kieran Murphy, has not responded to various requests for clarification he issued a statement to the investors.

Mr Murphy said, in the statement, that the negotiations had taken place between his company and the Indian construction company VG Buildtech.

He said, "At no time has there been any contractual relationship between the investors and Kuvera (Irl) Ltd." He added that although Kuvera had raised all the necessary enquiries regarding the progress of the development and the investors' interests, nevertheless neither Kuvera India or VG Buildtech had clarified what was happening.

It seems from the Indian Kuvera website that Kuvera in Ireland is the sales agent for VG Buildtech. Confusingly there have been reports that Kuvera had in fact bought a 50 per cent in the Indian company.

Mr Murphy set up Kuvera after selling his share of his previous company Invest Like The Best, co-founded with Rory Gillan.

Kuvera has allowed its membership of The Association of International Property Professionals (the watchdog for the international property market) to lapse. It joined the association only last year.

Source: www.hotproperty.co.uk

Indian development in jeopardy

Catherine Deshayes — 06/04/2009 10:26:00

The future of an £8 billion mixed use development in India is in doubt as the Dubai developer involves considers pulling out...

Limitless, the global master development arm of Dubai World, confirmed it is not able to go ahead with the project in Bidadi Knowledge City near Bangalore and a spokesman said it was because it has not been able to acquire the necessary land rather than a result of the credit crunch.

But, at the same time, the company confirmed that it is making a seven per cent reduction in global headcount as a result of the current economic situation and that 38 staff are being made redundant.

Limitless has also delayed a key contract on its £40.8 billion Arabian Canal project. The awarding of the contract for Phase two of development has been cancelled but it said that work was continuing on Phase one of the canal.

'We have made a difficult but necessary decision in response to current market conditions. As a responsible developer, we must adjust to and work around the situation by prioritising our investments, reviewing the pace of our developments and enhancing productivity. Unfortunately, this means taking the painful step of laying off a small proportion of staff,' said Rebecca Rees, Corporate Media Relations Manager at Limitless.

'Downturns do not last forever. We remain committed to our projects and optimistic about the long term outlook for the real estate sector. Most of our developments are long term, large scale projects, constructed over eight years, on average, so we can adjust the pace of development taking into account market conditions, which will inevitably fluctuate in that time,' she added.

The problems over the India project also affect one of India's biggest developers DLF. Limitless and DLF won the bid to build Bidadi in October 2007. Under the agreement, Government agencies were responsible for the land acquisition.

'Unfortunately, after 18 months the land acquisition has not advanced. As a result, Limitless and DLF have notified the Government that they are reconsidering their position,' Rees confirmed.

'Limitless remains optimistic about India as a future market, and will continue to explore viable opportunities there,' she added.

The company's property portfolio includes projects in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Russia, India, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Source: www.propertywire.com

Men are from Mars

Catherine Deshayes — 19/03/2009 08:34:00

A higher real estate tax rebate and cheaper loans for women in some parts of India is increasingly attracting the fairer sex to invest in property, it is claimed...

Potential female buyers can benefit from tax exemptions, lower stamp duties and easier availability of home loans, according to Aman Gehlot, Director of developers Ambience Group, which has noticed that a large number of single women are now enquiring about buying a dream home from developers.

He points out that states such as Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Orissa and Punjab have reduced rates for women. A lower stamp duty rate helps in saving on the overall costs while purchasing property, thus acting as a significant boost for prospective women buyers.

'Several states charge lower stamp duty on properties to women as compared to men. Women even enjoy the benefit of a higher tax rebate as compared to men. These factors act as a great incentive for women keen to buy property,' he said.

There have been many other factors that have encouraged women to become interested in buying property. The emergence of the new breed of women achievers who place career before marriage, the desire for self-acquired security and awareness of tax benefits has fuelled interest levels. Plus, the lack of hesitation showed by banks in lending to women is an added bonus.

'Women, regardless of whether they are married or single, face no specific problems in obtaining property loans today,' said Raminder Grover, CEO (Homebay Residential) of global real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

'It is true that banks were earlier hesitant about granting loans to single women since they saw a possible loss of income and therefore inability to service the loan following marriage. However, this is the age of double income families and such misgivings are a thing of the past. Many banks also have special schemes for women and offer discounts of around 0.25 per cent,' he added.

Developers confirm that interest from women is increasing. Omaxe, Ambience Group and CHD Developers all said that the number of queries from women has been increasing.

'More single women are now coming forward to invest in real estate. About 15 to 20 per cent of all enquiries we get are from women and almost half of these are unmarried,' said R K Mittal, CMD of CHD.

'Women today are on the same professional, personal and financial platform as men. They are independent, earning high salaries, driving their own cars, and have an impressive lifestyle full of luxuries. Owning a house makes them feel safe and secure for the future and serves as a wise investment option,' he added.

'Today, more women are buying their own homes. We are getting more queries from prospective women buyers now,' said Rohtas Goel, CMD of Omaxe.

Such is the increase that developers are considering incentives aimed at women. 'All developers instinctively or consciously factor in some basic considerations while planning their projects. For instance, every developer knows that it is the woman, and not the man, who has a deep, practical knowledge of what is and what isn't required in a home. In that sense, every residential property is fundamentally designed keeping the women in mind,' said Grover.

Source: www.propertywire.com

India in London

Catherine Deshayes — 17/03/2009 09:36:00

Hamptons International has announced that it will be holding a two-day India property event in London to showcase four of its new Indian property developments, available from £25,000 upwards...

College Windsor apartments, just one of the projects available, will be available at a 10 per cent discount on the purchase price plus 11 per cent annual return on down payments until possession.

The event will be held on the 19th and 20th of March at Hamptons International's Grosvenor Square office in Mayfair.

To book an appointment email info@hamptons-int.com or call +44 (020) 7758 8488 and quote 'India property Event'.

Source: www.homesoverseas.co.uk/news

India's new housing index

Catherine Deshayes — 11/03/2009 08:59:00

India is expected to introduce a Housing Start-up Index (HSUI) based on newly built homes in urban areas of the country, which would be updated on a quarterly basis, on the recommendation of a technical advisory group set up by the Reserve Bank of India...

The ability to monitor the volume of housing starts during a given period would allow authorities to measure the demand and supply situation as reflected in conversion of building permits into actual starts.

The Indian property market has grown rapidly in the past three years or so, and is having a greater influence on the country's economy, and the HSUI would be a useful tool for measuring the movement of residential prices.

Source: www.homesoverseas.com/news

Indian economy in ‘sharp slowdown'

Jaimie Kanwar — 27/02/2009 12:22:00

India's economy grew by less than expected in the last three months of 2008, official figures have shown...

The country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.3%, compared with 7.6% in the previous three months and 8.9% in the same period a year earlier.

Agriculture, which makes up about a fifth of the economy, was one of the sectors to see growth fall.

The global recession has cut demand for exports, and economists are calling for further measures to boost growth. These have included a clamour for further interest rate cuts.

The data saw India's main stock exchange index, the Sensex fall by 2% on Friday.

Domestic demand

Observers say the data will come as a blow to the Congress-led government, which faces general elections by May. It has predicted that the economy, which grew by 9% overall to March 2008, will expand by 7.1% in the 12 months to March this year.

However analysts say this will probably be revised down. The sharp slowdown in both China and India, which have been among the world's fastest-growing economies, will have a significant impact on the world economy, with the major industrial countries already mired in recession.

India's economy is Asia's third-largest, and is largely driven by domestic demand. It has seen strong growth of 9% or more in the past three years.

Below expectations

But the slowdown has "dismissed speculation India is more resilient in this global turmoil because its economy is more domestically oriented," said Sherman Chan, an economist at Moody's Economy.com.

Meanwhile Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist at Bank of Baroda in Mumbai said the growth figure was "way below my pessimistic expectations".

"Whatever the government is doing is not going to be very effective as large scale demand stimulus across the world has not proved to be effective in restoring business confidence."

source: www.bbc.co.uk

HSBC and IMF clash over Asia

Jaimie Kanwar — 12/02/2009 11:47:00

HSBC has openly disagreed with the IMF over Asia's ability to recover from the global economic downturn...

According to HSBC, Asia could be the first region to recover from the global recession.
At a press conference in Hong Kong, Sandy Flockhart, Asia-Pacific head of banking explained:

"The recovery could come about thanks to the consumption power of its growing middle class. The bad news is we are experiencing a severe global economic downturn. Global GDP should shrink in 2009.

"China and India continue to have high growth rates. The good news is that this region will be the first to recover from the crisis," he said, citing a growing middle class as one of Asia's stronger characteristics.

Diverging views

Flockhart's view contrasts with that of IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who said last week that Asia would not pull through the global economic downturn on its own.

Asian exports have plunged at double-digit rates in the past month as a result of weaker European and American consumer spending.

China on Wednesday reported an unexpectedly sharp 17.5 percent drop in January exports, the steepest decline since records began in 1993. Weak exports have pushed Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore into recession and economists say Taiwan and South Korea are heading for recession.

Positive moves to stimulate growth

Economic development in emerging Asia, however, is boosting the number of medium-income households and the region is relying on them to spur consumer spending and offset the export slump.

Flockhart said sweeping measures by governments around the world to stimulate growth were positive moves.

China believes it can still achieve 8 percent economic growth this year, helped by a 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) fiscal stimulus package announced late last year.

India expects its economy to grow by 7.1 percent in 2008/09, a six-year low, and has also introduced fiscal measures, but Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwali said this week that further stimulus would be needed to sustain growth.

Source: www.reuters.com

Indian market ‘not transparent'

Catherine Deshayes — 06/02/2009 09:54:00

The struggling real estate industry in India lacks transparency with companies less than clear about property dealings and how they account for development projects, it is claimed...

Securities analysts are scrutinizing companies' accounting methods and transparency and, in many cases, finding them wanting. Listed property companies could face bankruptcy in the face of deteriorating conditions, it is also claimed.

'With weakening property demand and a difficult business environment, we believe bankruptcy risk is rising for listed property companies,' according to a report by Mumbai-based Kim Eng Securities India Ltd.

In its report, Kim Eng drew attention to accounting practices common in the sector that it describes as 'suspect'.

One such practice, which is permitted under Indian accounting standards, is that some of the cost of interest on land banks and unfinished projects can be accounted for along with the company's assets. That temporarily boosts earnings by reducing interest expenses and adds to book values, making it appear that the company's land holdings and unfinished projects are worth more.

Later, the interest cost would be charged against profits and no longer counted with the company's assets, said Jigar Shah, Head of Research for Kim Eng in India.

Another area of concern is transparency. Credit Suisse says in a report that the Singh family, which holds some key management positions at DLF, India's biggest listed property company, and owns a large chunk of the company, has privately controlled entities from which DLF buys land.

DLF has 'no transparency in the land acquisition process', Credit Suisse said. Credit Suisse said that, in general, there is a higher risk of corporate-governance issues when a deal is with a related party.

Credit Suisse analysts said they believed DLF's disclosure of its land holdings in its annual report is inadequate.

In response a DLF spokesman said DLF has never bought land from its main shareholding family or any of the family's companies. 'All related party transactions are disclosed completely,' he said.

Source: www.propertywire.com