India Shining!, remember the Slogan used by BJP during its past government?, here is a BJP  person who has Proved this Literally. Cinestar and BJP MP Vinod Khanna has bought a residential apartment at Malabar Hill, in the tony South Mumbai area, from Citibank for Rs 1.25 lakh a sq ft. Khanna has paid Rs 31.25 crore for the 2,500 sq ft flat. The sale price was four times higher than the reserve price of Rs 32,000 per sq ft.

In a similar transaction nearly six months back, a London-based NRI acquired a 3475 sq ft property in NCPA apartments at Nariman Point for Rs 97,842 per sq ft.

Real estate industry experts said the price at which a property was sold cannot be viewed as a benchmark in South Mumbai as the area has a limited supply of real estate. "Buyers are keen on South Mumbai properties due to the status attached to it. Properties in the area will always sell at a premium," said Sanjay Dutt, deputy managing director, Cushman & Wakefield.

Citibank put the flat on sale a fortnight ago and property consultancy CB Richard Ellis was given the mandate to sell it.

While Vinod Khanna could not be contacted for comments, a Citi spokesperson said: "As common with many other multinational organisations, we periodically review our surplus residential estate portfolio in relation to employee requirements as the preference is towards a flexible remuneration policy."

The deal also marks the trend of foreign banks such as American Express, Deutsche Bank and HSBC selling their residential properties in Mumbai. The most prominent among them was high profile stock broker Rakesh Jhunjhunwala buying an apartment from American Express Bank in Mumbai's Malabar Hill for about Rs 25 crore.

Amidst the ongoing property sale by banks, Cushman's Dutt believes that the banks were taking a right step as the property prices were not sustainable in South Mumbai where prices have doubled over the last two to three years.

Visit www.mybangaloreproperty.com  for Properties in Bangalore

DLF, Nitesh Estates and HDFC Realty are amongst the bidders reportedly in the fray to acquire NRI tycoon C Sivasankaran’s Beacon House, located off the upmarket Cenotaph Road in the heart of Chennai. The 3-acre property, a former residence of UB Chairman Vijay Mallya when he controlled Best & Crompton (B&C), may fetch as high as Rs 225250 crore, sources said.

Mr Sivasankaran has mandated CB Richard Ellis to sell the property through an auction, with five bidders indicating early interest. While multiple sources confirmed interests from DLF, Nitesh Estates and HDFC Realty, unconfirmed reports indicated that local developer Arihant and Bangalore-based Sobha Developers are also in the fray.

Mr Sivasankaran had acquired the property in early 2006 for Rs 100-110 crore, sources said.The bidders, like DLF and Nitesh, may be eyeing the property for premium residential units, which, going by the current FSI of 1.5, could see 4 lakh sq ft of fresh development. The area has houses of leading industrialists, including Murugappa Group family members, and Japanese Consulate. Recently, DMK leader and son of chief minister MK Karunanidhi, MK Stalin, has moved there.

It is believed that a leading local developer True Value Homes may sit down with HDFC Realty for joint development, if the latter shows up with the winning bid. Earlier, True Value Homes had attempted to join with Mr Sivasankaran for developing premium residential apartments on the land.

Several local real estate sources said, in view soft market conditions, the maximum price it can fetch is Rs 3.25 crore per ground (56 grounds in 3 acre). Recalling the objections raised in the past over building multi-story buildings in the posh area, the realty sources added that it is not easy to take up development unless the bidder is familiar with the local conditions.

However, the national players, which may view Chennai as a more sable market in terms of real estate prices, may put in an aggressive bid that could take the auction price t Rs 225/250 in the highest band. A few months back, Bangalore-based Nitesh Estates made a winning Rs 640-crore bid for a nine-acre plot on Chamiers Road, which is in close to Beacon House.

Nitesh is in the midst of developing a one million sq ft mixed use development including luxury hotel, retail, commercial space and serviced apartments.

Beacon House came to the fold of UB chairman Vijay Mallya after he acquired B&C. Later, when the company was acquired by Indonesia’s Polysindo, it decided to sell the property making use o the scrapping of urban land ceiling act. Since Mr Sivasankaran had picked up stake in B&C, it helped him to clinch the deal.
Source: Economic Times, April 18, 2008.

In view of the appreciating rupee, high wages and increasing real estate prices, big, medium and small IT firms have made a successful entry into tier-II cities. Encouraged by their progress, many small IT firms are now exploring tier-III cities such as Udupi, Manipal, Hubli and Belgaum in Karnataka, Kozhikode in Kerala, Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, Jaipur in Rajasthan, and Durgapur and Kharagpur in West Bengal. The reasons are manifold. These cities have a good number of engineering colleges, and the firms do not find it difficult to meet their modest requirements of staffing, usually in the low hundreds, at affordable costs and without being plagued by high attrition. Smaller IT companies cannot compete with large brands in software services across domains. They have to specialise in niche areas and require a smaller workforce. It is easier for them to recruit in smaller towns where the big players are not competing. Consequently, they can bring down their operating costs, also. A case in point is Zeta Infotech which operates a remote R&D centre from Manipal for Synopsis, an electronic design automation software provider. Similarly, software product development services company Robosoft Technologies operates a centre in Udupi. The company has been able to attract local talent and Robosoft now employs more than 300 people. They have lower operating costs. The quality of life is good (less traffic problems, less pollution, good environs for creative work) for the employees. Udupi, Mangalore and Manipal have many educational institutes and engineering colleges. They have good healthcare facilities too. Another firm, Karmic, which offers design services, has set up a 220-member centre in Manipal. They have trained about 240 engineers in the difficult area of chip design and 220 of them are still with us. They have already opened a centre in Coimbatore and hope to open centres close to where professionals hail from, based on their inputs. Kochi as an IT destination is already witnessing the emergence of new locations. Thiruvananthapuram-based International Business Services (IBS), which provides IT solutions to the transportation and logistics sectors, is planning a 25-acre campus in Kozhikode. Jaipur, too, has its share of small IT firms. At present, there are eight firms working out of Jaipur. Intecons, which provides software services, has set up a centre in Jaipur. The company started with a target of local clients and Jaipur was comparatively less competitive with fewer software service providers. But it is a developed town and needs all IT-related facilities. They are targeting overseas clients and the company is 95 per cent export-oriented as of now.

Smaller towns in West Bengal such as Kharagpur and Durgapur are also attracting the attention of small players in the IT sector. Sankalp Semiconductor, which provides services to the semiconductor sector, is planning to open a centre, its third, in Kharagpur or Durgapur. At present, they have two centres in Hubli and Belgaum. They will start another centre in an engineering college in West Bengal. Kharagpur is home to an IIT and Durgapur has a regional engineering college. A high tech cluster is coming up in Kharagpur, which has new ventures promoted by IIT graduates, and can absorb regional talent down the line. NASSCOM has been promoting a number of secondary and tertiary cities with engineering talent.

Mukesh Ambani promoted Reliance Industries Limited, Wadhwa Builders, TCG Infrastructure and Hiranandani Constructions have emerged as the leading bidders for the three Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) plots in Mumbai measuring 75,350 square metres. The total value of the top bids is Rs 2,790 crore.

Milind Mhaiskar, joint metropolitan commissioner and project director (Mumbai), MUTP, told The Indian Express: “The highest bid per square metre this time is somewhere over Rs 5 lakh, which is easily three times our base price of Rs 1.56 lakh, the amount which was the per square metre bid by Reliance last year when they bagged the convention centre.

In that sense, we are happy with the bids as it reflects a steep upward trend in prices.” According to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad, MMRDA would lease out its properties for 80 years for the development, operation and maintenance of the commercial complex and car park. “Plots C-70, C-54 and C- 55 (the latter two have been offered as one plot) have been ear­marked for commercial and office use while plot C-66 has been reserved for a multi-storeyed car parking for a minimum of 500 cars along with a commercial complex,” he said.

“This is just the first phase of the bidding process and each bid needs to be analysed before they are awarded. These bids will now go to the executive committee after whose approval it will be announced,” Gaikwad said. “Our target is to raise Rs 2,60,000 crore for the development of the entire MMR region based on our draft plan. The bulk of this will be towards all the mass transit projects that have been earmarked as priority, which will partly come from such bids. MMRDA has another 50 acres of area in such plots.”

MMRDA officials said Reliance Industries emerged as a leading bidder for the C-66 Plot (30,550 sq m) with Rs 918 crore at the rate of Rs 3,00,501 per sq m. The second runner-up is RR Mega City, which had quoted Rs 2,13,093.28 per sq m, and the first runner-up is Business Park Town Planners Limited (BPTP) at Rs 2,48,348 per sq m.

For plot C-70 measuring 16,500 sq m, Wadhwa Group has quoted Rs 5,04,000 per sq m for the total at Rs 831 crore. JSW Property Group is the runner-up by quoting Rs 4,50,000 per sq m. Third bidder is Suzuki Powertrain India Limited (SPIL), who have quoted Rs 4,03,000 per sq m.

For plots C-54-55 with an area of 28,300 sq m, a joint venture between TCG Infrastructure and Hiranandani Constructions quoted a bid of Rs 3,67,992 per sq m totalling Rs 1,041 crore. The second bidder for this plot is SPIL at Rs 3,57,000 per sq m and JSW Property Group at Rs 3.33 lakh per sqm.      

Source: The Indian Express

A consortium lead by ADAG Group company Reliance Energy and Bangalore-based Sobha Developers has succeeded in their bid to build India’s tallest building ever built.

Sources said, APIIC Towers, will be developed on 78 acres of land in Manchervelu on the Express Highway to the upcoming Hyderabad International Airport. Reliance Energy will hold 66% while Sobha Developers will hold 23%. The balance stake of 11% will be held by APIIC (the AP Government’s investment arm).

It is learnt that the first phase of the project will consist of a 100-storey twin tower complex on 30 acres of land. The total project cost is pegged at Rs 6,000 crore. Work on the project will commence next year and is to be completed in three years. The project itself is coining up with certain conditions like milestone achievements.

“In two years, the company has to show signs of progress. If the state government is satisfied with the progress, then land for the second and third (final) phases will be handed over,” sources added.

When TOI contacted ADAG, the spokesperson confirmed winning the bid to construct the towers, but did not divulge any detail on the project or its partners.

The twin towers will have about 4.5 million sq ft of built-up space. The total project will have 11 million sq ft of built-up space. There will be residential complexes, hotels, serviced apartments, and malls to make it an “all under one roof” integrated structure, sources said. The tower is expected to be completed by 2010.

It is learnt that some 23 developers had bid for the project, including Reliance Industries, DLF, Unitech, Mantri Developers, Hiranandani and besides companies from Israel and Malaysia.

The AP Government feels that the proposed twin towers will be the centre piece of all developments in the region.

Source: The Times of India

Punjab National Bank has entered into a MoU with India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd. The MoU was inked by Dr. K.C. Chakrabarty, PNB Chairman, and Mr S.S.Kohli Chairman and Managing Director, IIFCL, here on Wednesday. Under the MoU, PNB and IIFCL will cooperate and complement each other's capabilities in the area of creating a deal flow of infrastructure projects that could be structured along commercially viable lines based on project appraisal undertaken by PNB, IIFCL and PNB Gilts Ltd.

With the growing scarcity of land in the existing Gurgaon Master plan, Manesar is being developed by the Govt. of Haryana as the new area for development. Most of the builders have already acquired lands in Gurgaon Manesar Expressway to develop townships like Unitech, Vatika, Raheja, DLF, N R Buildcon and many more.
 
The proposed Expressway to Jaipur and SEZs to be developed by Reliance, DLF, Unitech and Raheja are already adding value to Manesar apartments for builders and owners. Driven by positive growth in the economy and large scale investments in SEZ, the real estate in Manesar is booming at a swirled pace and in a recent survey, Manesar has emerged as one of the top 3 investors’ choice for real estate investment.
 
Manesar has also appeared as one of the India’s major outsourcing hubs, housing major multinationals such as Honda, Baxter, Suzuki, Stanley, Mitshubishi, Nippon, Toyota etc. Already a home to many manufacturing units of repute such as largest car and motorcycle manufacturers in India, namely Maruti Udyog and Hero Honda, futuristic Manesar has Corporate Majors like Suzuki with plans to invest Rs.2500 crores by 2010 and to make its Manesar plant a manufacturing hub for diesel engines. Japan also will be investing more in Manesar in near future. Samsung Telecommunications India Pvt.Ltd.will also be investing 850 Cr to start commercial production of its mobile handset in India by 2010. Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India will invest 300 Cr in two yrs to increase the capacity at its plant in Manesar. Such a huge  commercialization, has not only triggered the need for the office spaces, but has also created a huge demand for residential properties for  people who are/will be working here and in future would require a abode of their own. All this has sent Manesar real estate selling like hot cakes. Ready for a deal!

Government approved 14 proposals for setting up SEZs, including those of TCS and Singapore-based realty major Ascendas but deferred a decision on plans by DLF and Unitech Hitech for setting up tax-free zones in Noida in the NCR region.

Formal clearance for 10 proposals and in-principle nod to four applicants was given by the Board of Approval chaired by Commerce Secretary G K Pillai.

"Formal approval was given to plans of TCS to set up an IT zone in West Bengal and Ascendas received in-principle clearance for electronic and multi-product SEZs in Tamil Nadu," Pillai told reporters after the meeting.

He said the decision on DLF and Unitech Hitech was deferred since the promoters did not have land in possession.

This is the first decision on SEZs after the Union Cabinet had cleared the Resettlement and Rehabilitation policy, making the process of land acquisition transparent and easy for the promoters.

US-based PKN Group said it will develop a Dh4.3-billion resort to bring "Las Vegas-style" living and entertainment to a desert area of Ajman near the border with Ras Al Khaimah.
To hammer home the point that it would be fit for celebrities to live there, the company even brought Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze to endorse the plan. The company unveiled its PKN Princess Resort at an event at the Burj Al Arab hotel on Thursday night.
Facilities
The California-based company's chairman Max Paxima said the development is "unlike any other project" attempted in the UAE.
It will offer hundreds of apartments, low-rise houses, a shopping mall, an office tower and a five-star hotel.
A casino will also be built, but without gambling facilities, Paxima said. "This is a not a gaming and gambling casino. This is a Las Vegas-style entertainment centre," he told Gulf News.
With entertainment being a big theme, the project's unveiling was accompanied by a performance by a troupe of belly dancers, who encouraged the 1987 dance movie star to display his moves.
Watched by dozens of people, including his wife, Swayze's footwork showed the Dirty Dancer has lost a bit of his old fair. Speaking to Gulf News, the Hollywood star explained why he is drawn to the Gulf region.
"I shake your hand and I look in your eyes, that's all the contract we need," he said, referring to the traditional protocol of honouring one's word in business deals. "I am hoping the US will come back to that belief system soon."
The resort is being developed in an equal partnership with the Ajman government, according to PKN. Paxima said the development cost will be about Dh3 billion with potential sales reaching up to Dh5 billion, more than the current projections of Dh4.3 billion.
The 3.1 million-square foot project site is located in the Manamah hills area near Ras Al Khaimah's water spring village of Masafi.
When completed in early 2010, the resort complex promises to become an "exclusive enclave of fun, excitement and first-class living."