Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has hinted at a likely softening of interest rates. He said that he would be meeting heads of public sectors banks soon to assess the possibility of making credit available to customers quickly and at cheaper rates.
He said: “The Reserve Bank of India has taken a series of monetary measures in the past few months. Banks should take advantage of those monetary measures and should pass on the benefits to customers.”
The FM is likely to meet bankers on June 12, 2009. He will discuss with bankers the state of the economy and whether there are any impediments in the path of reducing interest rates.
Tata Realty aims at Rs 10,000 cr revenue
Tata Realty and Infrastructure (TRIL), a unit of Tata Sons, plans to earn Rs 10,000 crore in revenues from its housing and commercial projects in the next four years. According to a top official, by 2013, 60-70 per cent of the company’s portfolio would belong to the residential segment, while the rest would belong to office and retail segments. The company is planning to foray into the residential space this year with projects in Mumbai and Gurgaon. It also plans to undertake housing projects in Bangalore, Kochi, Nagpur, Chennai and Gurgaon over the next couple of years.
PE players go for affordable housing
With several realty players getting into the affordable housing segment, private equity players are finding the phenomenon encouraging. PE firms like Red Fort Capital Advisors and Kotak Realty Fund are exploring opportunities in low-cost and mid-income housing projects. According to G B Singh, director, Red Fort Capital Advisors, the top-end category in the real estate space is saturated. “Several firms are coming up with affordable housing projects ranging from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 10 lakh across India, and we are keen to invest in them,” he said.
The firm is planning to invest 75 per cent of its Rs 400 crore corpus in affordable housing over the next two years and is close to clinching two deals in the NCR region.
Sobha Developers ties up for PE funding
Bangalore-based Sobha Developers has entered into an agreement with a private equity investor for joint development of projects. According to J C Sharma, managing director, Sobha Developers, the company has entered into an agreement with a private equity investor, Purna Partners, for an investment of Rs 225 crore at the special purpose vehicle (SPV) level for development of certain projects in Bangalore and other cities.
LICHF looks for capital of Rs 500 cr via QIP
LIC Housing Finance (LICHF), the home finance subsidiary of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), plans to raise Rs 500 crore though qualified institutional placement (QIP) and preferential issue of shares. According to R R Nair, chief executive, LICHF, the company needs the capital to support business growth for two years.
Source:ExpressEstates.in