The company, which currently has about 40 hotels at various stages of construction, will start work on another 15-20 new in the next one year.
“So in the next 3-4 years ITC will have up to 60 new properties operational,” ITC chief executive of Hotels Division, Nakul Anand said.
“Room capacity will vary from 40-60 to up to 600 depending on the type of property,” Anand said.

ITC would prefer to invest in high-end, seven star super luxury hotels.
ITC operates its hospitality business under the brands — ITC Hotels Luxury Collection, WelcomHotels, Fortune Hotels (budget hotels), and WelcomHeritage (chain of palaces, forts and havelis.

Harshavardhan Neotia, chairman, Ambuja Realty, said that while City Centre at Siliguri has come up with a capital outlay of Rs 280 crore, the three other City Centres at Haldia, Raipur and Patna would involve an investment of close to Rs 550 crore. Patna City Centre will be ready by the end of the current year, Raipur City Centre will be ready by December 2011 and City Centre Haldia will be up and running by 2012, he said.

Ambuja Realty has already teamed up with leading chains and leading brands like Shoppers Stop, Spencer’s, Big Cinemas, Max Lifestyle, KFC, Hangout — the Food Court, Lilliput World, Planet Fashion, Subway, Crossword, Timezone, Adidas, Aawrun, Bata, Biba, Café Coffe Day, Gini & Jony, Converse, Golden Tips, Hoffmen, Jockey, John Players, Levi’s, L’oreal, Metro, Music World, Moustache, Nike, Peter England, Planet M, Prapti, Samsonite, Tea Junction, Success, Titan, Turtle, Wills Lifestyle, to mention a few. And Neotia’s enthusiasm stems from this.

“Some of them are coming for the first time while others are already there with the existing City Centres. Siliguri, by and large untapped, has tremendous potential as a retail hub. Siliguri is not just a major trading zone; it is also a gateway to the hills of Darjeeling, Sikkim and the Northeast. We are tapping all by offering this new plush retail platform,” he said.

Located in Uttarayon at the city’s Darjeeling Mor, City Centre Siliguri is spread on a sprawling 8 lakh sq ft are, incidentally is the biggest of all the City Centres (existing and upcoming ones). City Centre Salt Lake and City Centre New Town are spread across 3 lakh sq ft and 3.52 lakh sq ft, respectively. “In City Centre Siliguri, we have tried to create an offering that appeals to every aspiration and need of the residents in and around Siliguri. We sincerely hope that City Centre Siliguri with its entire bouquet of offering makes a positive difference to the lives of residents of Siliguri and beyond. We hope it will truly become a family destination,” said Neotia. The developers are in fact extremely bullish about the City Centre-Siliguri and Neotia hoped that it would generate overall business turnover of over Rs 300 crore in the first year itself.

The other advantage is that it is coming up at the entrance of ‘Uttorayan’, the 400-acre modern and integrated township developed by the group. City Centre Siliguri, the first phase of which will be thrown open in December, this year, will house departmental stores, a 4-screen cineplex with a seating capacity of 1,000, food courts, banqueting facilities, fine dining restaurants, gaming zone, kiosks, business centre with state-of-the-art office spaces and over 200 branded and unbranded shops.

“It will also boast of 75,000 sq ft of atrium lobby and an open air entertainment area called ‘Celebration Square’, which promises to be a perfect venue for get-togethers and hangouts. It will also be pulsating with regular events and promotions, designed and executed by our in-house dedicated division and is sure to cater to a large footfall,” said Neotia.

Spread over 10.5 acres, City Centre Siliguri will comprise the mall, office space and a five-star hotel. “While a large part of the mall will be opened in December, it will take another 12 months for the rest of the mall, the hotel and the office space to be fully functional,” said Neotia.
The new City Centre will be architecturally similar to the Salt Lake and New Town ones, which means it will also house AC and non-AC spaces, seamless connectivity and a hangout zone called Celebration Square inspired by the popular kund area.

With an investment of Rs 200 crore, Ambuja Realty is eyeing an annual turnover of more than Rs 300 crore from City Centre Siliguri. The mall is likely to bring a number of international and national brands to the parched Siliguri shopper.
With Shoppers Stop to Subway, KFC to Big Cinemas set to open doors at City Centre Siliguri, it is positioning itself as the one-stop retail and entertainment destination.
Ambuja Realty will next have City Centre malls at Haldia, Raipur and Patna.

Source: indianrealtynews

Wal-Mart has partnered Bharti Group to operate cash-and-carry wholesale stores and intends to continue the tie-up for multi-brand retailing. Bharti Wal-Mart believes that FDI in multi-brand retail should be permitted without any restrictions. They believe it will create conditions for greater flow of investments to the back-end with related benefits for farmers, small businesses and consumers.

Carrefour, which is also drawing up plans to roll out wholesale formats, also supports a more relaxed FDI policy. It feels any cap or restrictions on FDI in this sector may result in potential loss of opportunities of inclusive growth for the retail sector and that the cap should be such that a foreign retailer is entitled to make a minimum of 51 per cent investment with rights to manage the company and bring about efficiency in operations and induct the best industry practices.

Given the state of the supply chain in India, much of the investment in the back-end would be up-front, particularly in the initial years. A fixed percentage of investment on the back-end could therefore, leads to a misallocation of resources and takes away from where they are most needed to create efficient supply chains. Any stipulation for minimum investment of any fixed percentage in the back-end infrastructure, beyond what the foreign retailers are planning to do, would put undue and additional pressure on the profitability margin expected from retail operations and negatively influence the viability of the operations.

Source: indianrealtynews

Irfan Razack, chairman and managing director of Prestige Group, said, “The Prestige Group has always attempted to create landmarks in Bangalore through our commitment to international quality and design. Over the years, we have created a niche for ourselves in the luxury residences category and Prestige Silver Oak promises to be yet another milestone for the company in this segment. The development reflects an introduction to a popular West Asia type architecture with spatial designs which combines fantasy with the practicality of modern day lifestyle.”

The project promises a unique blend of opulence with signature qualities and is set to become one of the company’s landmark projects, Prestige said in a statement.
The Independent bungalows, ranging from 3,606 sq ft to 5,091 sq ft are double-storied edifices ensconced in their own private gardens. Eight different models of these elegant villas are available, each including four palatial bedrooms.

The apartments spread across four floors, with areas ranging between 1,851 sq ft and 2,411 sq ft have been designed on an outward looking plan to maximise the views to the surrounding serene greenery. Keeping in mind the recreational needs of their residents, Prestige Silver Oak also provides an exclusive clubhouse, which comes with all the required amenities that is a necessity for modern day premium lifestyle.
The development has been designed to accommodate only 178 units in order to provide a sylvan haven to its residents. The land coverage is only 30 per cent to provide extensive landscape areas, Prestige said.

Source: indianrealtynews

Besides, residential and commercial space, the Globevill township plans to offer a hospital, restaurants, a business hotel, retail and recreational spaces as well as a full fledged school. ETA has tied up with Ryan International School to house the school within the spatce of the project.

ETA plans to develop the Globevill project across phases, extending over five years The first phase of development, involving around 82 acres of land, will offer nearly 2,000 residential apartment units, ranging from 1 BHK, 2 BHK and 3 BHK units to even villas. The residential apartments will come in the range of 600-1,200 sq ft.

“The first phase development will be completed in about 18-24 months. We have now started taking bookings for the first phase and we have announced an inaugural price of Rs 2,200 per sq ft for the residential apartments,” Ahmed Shakir, managing director, ETA Star, said.

According to him, Globevill, situated very close to the Sipcot Industrial Estate that houses the manufacturing units of some of the leading multinational companies, will target the over three lakh employees working in the region.

“Once completed, Globevill is bound to become a landmark in construction and design standards for the industry and is surely going to start a new trend of developing more integrated townships in Tamil Nadu,” says Fayaz Ahmed, director, ETA Star. “Our township will be setting a new trend in the lifestyle patterns for people in and around Chennai,” he added.

ETA Star, which hit the limelight among the property developers in Chennai with the launch of its Citi Centre Mall, has since then moved on to develop residential projects. While it has already completed one project near Poonamallee, another project is under development on OMR, Chennai’s IT Corridor.

Source: indianrealtynews

Indospace Logistics is currently talking to FWS, a Delhi-based logistics developer, to build the facility which will have large warehouses which can be used by retail and consumer goods companies. The proposed implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, or GST, is expected to create the need for large warehouses that will replace the current practice of smaller stockyards in multiple states. This is done to avoid duplication of taxes but will not be required once the GST regime is in place.

If the logistics plan fructifies, this will be one of Everstone Capital’s largest investments after being spun off from Kishore Biyani’s Future Capital earlier this year. Both Everstone and FWS declined to comment for this story. DTZ, a real estate consultancy, is advising FWS on the deal.

“Indospace has been following a model of buying land and developing industrial real estate projects,” said the people cited earlier. “This current deal would be part of that focus,” they added. Everstone Capital was formed after Sameer Sain parted ways with Kishore Biyani, the owner of Pantaloon, in January 2010. Mr Sain formed Everstone Capital along with Atul Kapur, who had worked along with him at Goldman Sachs. Everstone’s Indospace is a $250-million fund that also has a joint venture with Realterm Global, a US-based industrial real estate investment firm.

The fund already has projects underway in Pune and Chennai where it is building warehouses, distribution and storage spaces for use by automotive companies such as Volkswagen, Tata Motors, Mahindra, Daimler and Bosch. FWS is a logistics developer, promoted by Delhi-based businessman Vikas Yadav, that has already leased about 1.5 million square feet of logistics space across the NCR. Its clients for warehouses include companies such as P&G, DHL and the Future Group.

The need for large warehouses is likely to rise once the government’s proposed GST is fully implemented, as the new legislation will have a uniform tax rate. Companies now have to deal with a central sales tax and a state sales tax, which leads to a higher levy as firms with a manufacturing presence in one state have to resort to accounting jugglery to avoid paying dual taxes for sale in a different state.

The GST will encourage companies to sign supply and distribution management contracts with logistics companies. Companies have started to negotiate with large logistics companies to manage their costs. While the government has targeted to introduce GST by April 2011, the schedule is likely to get delayed by a year due to lack of consensus among all states.

Source: indianrealtynews

The department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), the nodal agency for foreign investment policy, has written to the finance ministry giving the broad contours of the proposed foreign investment framework for LLPs. It has suggested that foreign investment be allowed in LLPs with prior approval.

“This will give foreign investors flexibility to operate in a simpler environment with minimal compliances and yet be tax efficient,” said Akash Gupt, executive director of consulting firm PwC. LLPs share many of its features with normal partnerships, but partners will have reduced personal responsibility for its business debts as the partnership itself is responsible for such liabilities.

A discussion paper is expected to be put up in public domain soon, said a government official privy to the discussions. This would be third in the series of discussion papers released by the DIPP. The earlier ones were on foreign investment in defence production and multi-brand retail. DIPP had, after initial discussions earlier this year, taken a view against opening up this form of business organisation to foreigners. During those discussions, the Reserve Bank of India had favoured FDI up to 49% in LLPs in select sectors, while the finance ministry was in favour of a more liberal regime, but with prior approval.

As per the policy proposed by the DIPP, foreigners will not be allowed to set up LLPs in sectors such as real estate where conditions such as minimum capitalisation and lock-in period are applicable. It also bars foreigners in sectors where FDI is prohibited or restricted with caps on investment.

Indian companies having foreign investments will not be eligible to make investments in LLPs. Similarly, LLPs having foreign investment will not be allowed to make downstream investments or raise overseas debt, said a senior government official. LLPs incorporate the features of companies and partnerships. The liability of partners is limited to the extent of their stakes in the entity. It also has various advantages over present corporate structures. Unlike private limited companies where number of shareholders is limited to 50, an LLP can have unlimited number of partners.

Compliances relating to meetings and maintenance of statuary records are not applicable for LLPs. Currently, FDI is not permitted in partnerships firms, but is allowed in companies depending on sectoral cap. FDI is allowed up to 100% in a number of sectors such as manufacturing through the automatic route.

Sole proprietorship firms can get non-resident investment on a non-repatriable basis. Globally, 100% foreign investment is permitted in LLPs though they are not allowed to undertake certain sectoral activities in some countries.

Source: indianrealtynews

The company reserves would see us through initial phase funding in all these ventures. “May be at a later date, we will look at part divestment of stake in the real estate venture,” said Talwar.

Source: indianrealtynews

Despite the present limitations for small investors, a property investment can give the buyer protection against inflation. Like gold, real estate tends to retain its intrinsic value. However, unlike with gold, it is possible to earn a regular income on it. Depending upon various economic factors, a property owner can increase rent in times of high inflation. Also, real estate is always a good investment option because of the possibility of capital appreciation. Of course, an individual must decide on the basis of his own income, existing financial health and risk appetite how much he should allocate for real estate.

The limitations pertaining to buying and selling of real estate in India exist to prevent speculation. Considering what has happened before such regulations were enforced more strictly, they are required. We do not want a situation similar to that faced by the US in this country – thankfully, our banking system is a lot more conservative , and this has been one of the main reasons why India did not suffer as much as other countries did in the recent economic turmoil. Unfortunately, there is currently no way of predicting when they will become a reality. Small investors will only get real investment power when REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) and REMFs (Real Estate Mutual Funds) see the light of day in India.

These vehicles will present a liquid, dividendpaying means of participating in the real estate market. We are all still awaiting clarity on the introduction of REITS and REMFs in India.

Source: indianrealtynews

It said the commercial lease and rental space in India would witness a low occupancy rate till 2011. The report, however, added that most Indian cities have witnessed an increase in the volume of lease transactions in the first quarter of 2010 with Delhi, including the national capital region, Mumbai and Hyderabad having recorded more than a million square feet of leases each. In 2009, occupiers showed a strong preference towards operational vacant stock rather than projects under construction, a departure from 2007-08, the report pointed out. On the future trend, report said the most micro markets were expected to reach their rental lows within the next 2 3 quarters, if not reached as yet. This indicates that the window of opportunity for occupiers, where balance of power favours them, continues to shrink with every passing quarter.

“With India’s economic recovery well under way, its commercial real estate market is beginning to stabilise. Apart from charting the today’s lucrative micro-markets in terms of commercial real estate, this report also affirms that the commercial property landscape will remain favourable for tenants in 2010, and that landlords will have greater influence towards the beginning of 2011,” said Abhishek Kiran Gupta, Head Research and REIS, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj. The report titled “The Seven Stars of India India’s best performing micro markets for occupiers” highlights the trend and forecast on realty rental market in seven cities of India Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

Source: indianrealtynews