Friday, June 22, 2007 : The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has formally approved NRI steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal’s bid to acquire 49% of the stocks of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation’s Bhatinda refinery.
Friday, June 22, 2007 : Self-funded engineering colleges falling under the government category in Kerala will reserve 15% of their seats for NRI students, announced the state Education Minister M. A. Baby at a press conference in Thiruvanthapuram yesterday.
Friday, June 22, 2007 : Following DLF and ICICI Bank, the next IPO around the corner is the Rs.15 billion issue from Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL). 29.70 million shares will be offered within a price band of Rs.430 to Rs.500 at a face value of Rs.10 per share.
Friday, June 22, 2007 : The Fund would be utilised to train workers for securing jobs overseas, protect the overseas Indian workers during troubled times and help them re-locate to India when they choose to do so.
Thursday, June 21, 2007 : As Indian corporates scout overseas for foreign companies
on sale, India’s outbound foreign direct investment (FDI) may actually better
the incoming FDI target of USD 30 billion in 2007-08.
Thursday, June 21, 2007 : Following Strabag SE’s teaming up with Indiabulls last week, it is now the turn of Multiplex of Australia to join the Indian construction industry through a tie-up with Emaar MGF for the company’s
projects in Goa, Hyderabad and Kochi.
Thursday, June 21, 2007 : By the end of its second day, the follow-on public offer (FPO) from ICICI Bank received an enthusiastic response from investors, being oversubscribed 3.15 times for the 98.8 million shares on offer valued at Rs.10, 062.5 crore.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 : NRIs in Malaysia would soon be able to avail the
services and products of India’s fifth largest bank, the Bank of Baroda.
Plans are afoot to start a branch in Kuala Lumpur in late 2007 in a joint
venture with the Punjab National Bank and the Andhra Bank.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 : The Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) is the focus of the Chennai real estate market, as national level real estate developers are homing down to this upcoming IT suburb. Mega residential townships are taking concrete shape, and almost Rs.4000 crore has been poured into the property market
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 : Whitbread PLC of the UK is the latest entrant to
the Indian hospitality segment. Premier Travel Inn, the group’s budget hotel
brand, repackaged as the Premier Inn, will partner Emaar-MGF for 80 budget
hotels in the country .
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 : The low interest rates on NRI deposits have been a cause of concern for the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, which it now plans to take up with the Indian Prime Minister and the Finance Ministry.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007 : The prestigious Commonwealth Games Village project
is likely to come Emaar-MGF’s way, with DLF also out of the reckoning, having
fallen short on specifications laid down by the Delhi Development Authority.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007 : The Indian Government is pulling all stops to beef up the infrastructure sector, focusing on a gamut of projects worth around USD 550 billion in the medium term.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007 : The Delhi Government yesterday announced the minimum circle rates for property, which determine the lowest rate at which property can be sold for or bought at in the capital city.
Monday, June 18, 2007 : Reuters India has extended its Reuters Trading for Foreign Exchange (RTFX) facility to YES Bank to introduce a new electronic trading service for corporates and other establishments in India.
Monday, June 18, 2007 : The bourses are gearing up for another mega issue - this time from ICICI Bank which will set rolling a USD 5 billion follow-on offer tomorrow to finance its overseas and rural network and promote infrastructure projects in India worth USD 500 billion.
Monday, June 18, 2007 : The Government has expressed its reservations to put Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) at par with Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), based on the objections raised by several ministries.
Monday, June 18, 2007 : Indiabulls Real Estate’s strategic tie-up with Europe’s
leading infrastructure and construction company, Strabag SE set the shares
of the Indian company soaring to Rs.383.90, up by 7.16% last Friday.
Friday, June 15, 2007 : After HDFC Realty Fund, it is now the turn of Indiareit, a real estate private equity fund, to invest in Paranjape Schemes Ltd., a leading real estate developer in Pune.
Friday, June 15, 2007 : Ansal Housing and Construction Ltd. have announced their latest township projects in Karnal and Rewari, expecting a positive response from end-user investors.
Friday, June 15, 2007 : On the third day of its initial public offering, DLF was subscribed by more than 3 times the 175 million shares on offer, with institutional investors and high net worth individuals forming the chunk of the applicants.
Friday, June 15, 2007 : In respect of industrial growth, the southernmost
state of Kerala has put up a sluggish performance, vis-à-vis the national
average, dipping to even negative growth during 2001-2002 and 2004-2005.
Thursday, June 14, 2007 : The Kochi centre of the Visa Facilitation Service has registered a rise in visa applications to the UK ever since it commenced operations in May 2003.
Thursday, June 14, 2007 : Real estate developers in India are facing the brunt of high interest costs on loans from Indian banks. Since the ban on external commercial borrowings imposed by the Finance Ministry .
Thursday, June 14, 2007 : Indians in the US are lobbying hard for legislation that would enable them to stay on permanently in that country.
Thursday, June 14, 2007 : The first month of the financial year got off to a good start, registering a 13.6% growth in industry, despite measures taken by the Finance Ministry to curb demand in the housing and real estate sector.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007 : The health sector is catching the interest of real estate developers as privately run specialty hospitals and medical tourism become popular.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007 : A fresh round of FDI approvals came in from the Finance Ministry on Tuesday, upon the recommendation of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board. All of 17 FDI projects were cleared, involving an investment of Rs. 122.3 crore.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007 : Indian real estate firms have realized that better synergy can be achieved through partnerships and mergers. Adding to the growing list of tie-ups are Trammel Crow and the Uppal Group which entered into fresh alliances early this week.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 : Infrastructure is known to drive the real estate market, proved yet again by the upcoming airport at Sriperumbedur, on the outskirts of Chennai.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 : The Reserve Bank of India issued fresh guidelines last week with respect to its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 : Kolkata’s real estate market is hotting
up as its peripheral limits stretch to include once distant suburbs
like Rajarhat in the north-east, Batanagar in the south-west, Howrah
in the west and Dankuni in the north-west.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 : The rush for DLF’s stocks in the opening
hours of the IPO on Monday morning confirmed the confidence investors
have in the real estate industry, despite talks of an overheated
market.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 : Furious activity is being noticed in
the builders’ camp as real estate developers in India chalk
out mega projects, seek global partners or plan for public issues
to finance their businesses.
Monday, June 11, 2007 : As the construction of the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway gathers steam, investors to properties in Kundli and Sonepat may soon see their dream of Kundli going the Gurgaon and Noida way turn into a reality.
Monday, June 11, 2007 : Taking the cue from the State Bank of India, other leading public and private banks have taken the initiative to woo NRI investors by hiking the interest rates on NRI deposits with immediate effect.
Monday, June 11, 2007 : As the perception of reverse mortgage gains popularity in India, HDFC proposes to enter the market with a customized mortgage product for the elderly. The process of identifying potential customers has already been initiated in Athashri in Pune, a housing society exclusively for senior citizens.
Friday, June 08, 2007 : Real estate developers in India may now be required to submit a performance bank guarantee, if the proposal submitted by the Union Urban Development Ministry is incorporated in the Real Estate Regulatory and Management Bill.
Friday, June 08, 2007 :Real estate mutual funds (REMFs) or real estate investment trusts (REITs) as they are known in the US were granted approval to operate in India in June 2006. REITs use the funds pooled in by small investors to invest and manage residential, commercial and industrial properties that generate income.
Friday, June 08, 2007 : The way out for cash-strapped real estate companies in the face of restrictions on foreign investors and external commercial borrowings now appears to be joint venture partnerships with overseas developers.
Friday, June 08, 2007 : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s ban
on External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) may be revoked once its
inflation control efforts begin to show results.
Thursday, June 07, 2007 : Property buyers in Bangalore can breathe easy as homes become more affordable in the city - real estate agents report a softening of prices as a large number of independent bungalows are giving way to compact premium apartment complexes.
Thursday, June 07, 2007 : Emaar-MGF is on a major expansion spree with grand plans of real estate projects located across several Indian states. The package entails a total investment of USD 12 billion over the next five years.
Thursday, June 07, 2007 : The “India Property 2007” exhibition
is being hosted by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers
Association of India (CREDAI) and the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing
Industry (MCHI) in London and Dubai shortly to showcase Indian
properties to NRI investors in particular.
Thursday, June 07, 2007 : After much debate on the cap on foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign institutional investors (FII), the Indian government is most likely to impose a composite limit on both, across all sectors.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007 : Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group finally
received the go-ahead from the Board of Approval for a 440 acre
multi-product Special Economic Zone in Gurgaon, Haryana, and
an in-principle approval to its 2,850 hectare port-based SEZ
in Rewas, Maharashtra.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007 : DLF’s investment in Special Economic Zones (SEZs)
in India would cover 26,100 acres in the next two years, and aims to fund
these mega projects partly from the IPO worth Rs. 9,625 crore it is placing
next week.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007 : To further restrict foreign investment in Indian real estate, the Government is preparing to introduce a lock-in period for non resident Indians who invest in projects prior to an initial public offer.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007 : India’s leading nationalized bank, the State Bank
of India, has increased its rate of interest on NRI deposits with effect
from June 1, 2007
Tuesday, June 05, 2007 : With the announcement of the Dharavi
Rehabilitation Project, speculation is again rife as to what turn property
prices will take in Mumbai’s real estate market.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007 : Ahead of the IPO the real estate major is going ahead with next week, DLF has disclosed its new venture into the health sector and expansion in the retail segment with a set of 6 formats.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007 : The ambitious Emaar MGF project in Mohali, which was under a cloud for the last few months, has finally met the approval of the Punjab Government.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007 : The suspense on the fate of some Special Economic
Zones has been lifted, as the Board of Approval met last week to consider the
proposals awaiting a decision, and accept new applications.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007 : With the new service tax introduced by the government
in the last budget coming into force, commercial property rates have gone
up from 1st June.
Friday, June 01, 2007 Home loan seekers confused about disparities in housing loans extended by various housing finance companies can look forward to a common forum being proposed by the National Housing Board (NHB).
Friday, June 01, 2007 : Citigroup, the financial services giant, will sell HDFC home loan products through all its branches in India alongside its own loan services.
Friday, June 01, 2007 : Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) proposals worth Rs.418.33 crore were cleared by the Finance Ministry yesterday, based on the recommendations of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
Friday, June 01, 2007 : Foreign direct investment to India during 2006-07 trebled over the last year, the RBI announced yesterday. FDI accounted for USD 17.1 billion of a total of USD 27.3 billion of capital inflows during the year.
Friday, June 01, 2007 :May 2007 will go down in history as the month of trillions - after the trillion dollar mark touched by India’s GDP, and then the net worth of NRIs, it is now the turn of the Indian stock market to do so.
