Properties22

Foreign Insurers Set to Invest Heavily in a Cash-Starved India Market India’s latest move to liberalize its insurance sector may create the long-hoped-for opening for foreign insurance companies to advance into the under-developed market. But while business is thriving, foreign insurers must face reality checks in the form of the country’s limited capacity for infrastructure and system supports, competition from public insurers, operating expenses and investment costs. The Indian Parliament’s raising of direct foreign investment limits in insurance ventures from 26% to 49%, if enacted in December, will mark a milestone in India’s insurance industry since the opening of the sector for private and foreign investors in…. Click here to Read More

Centrum Broking Pvt Ltd today shared findings from its research report on the Mumbai Real Estate Sector. It expects a 30-35% fall in India’s residential prices from the peak, with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) estimated to witness the lowest fall of 20-30% until April 2009. Residential demand in Mumbai is estimated at 66mn.square feet vs 55mn.square feet supply The report says that the decline in real estate prices in Mumbai will bring back affordability and is expected to boost demand. The factors that are likely to result in a lesser price drop in MMR include. The favorable demand supply equation shields against steepcorrection in Mumbai – Owing to its geography and high population density, Mumbai has limited land area…. Click here to Read More

Real estate developers frustrated over credit policy Real estate developers and consultants expressed disappointment over the RBI’s credit policy announced today and has asked the apex bank to infuse more liquidity into the system and to the property sector. “It’s disappointing but understandable,” global real estate consultant Cushman and Wakefield Managing Director (South Asia) Sanjay Verma said. He noted that though inflation has begun sliding, it is still in double digits, so there is always a fear that additional liquidity can stoke a price rise. “For me, the availability of credit to developer should be the bigger priority. Demand is there, someone needs to supply,” Verma added. The liquidity…. Click here to Read More

Realty stocks battered, Unitech down by over 51% Real estate sector was the biggest loser in today’s stock market plunge, led by country’s second largest firm Unitech that witnessed a sharp fall of over 51%. The realty index witnessed a 24.4% decline, which is more than double the benchmark index Sensex fall of nearly 11%. The index has fallen by 31 per cent in a week, 55.5% in a month and 82% in the past one year. Real estate companies, which have a presence in the index, saw an erosion of about Rs 20,000 crore in market capitalization. Unitech lost 51.3% to settle at Rs 30.1 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, followed by DLF, which lost 24% to close at Rs 203.9 a share. Ansal Infra, Indiabulls Realty, Omaxe, Parsvnath,…. Click here to Read More

Zuri brand of hotels in India Phoenix Group Global, a promoter of luxury resorts, on Tuesday announced the launch of its own brand of Zuri luxurious hotels and resorts in India. The first five-star hotel will open at Whitefield in Bangalore in January next year, said Priti Chand, media officer of the business group. “We are acquiring land for five other hotels in Ahmedabad, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Chennai and Nagpur and will be investing around Rs 10.5 billion for these projects,” Chand said. Phoenix Group Global, a multinational conglomerate based in Dubai has interests in the hospitality, real estate and floriculture sector and owns and manages hotels under the franchise of Carlson Hotels Worldwide. At present it has two…. Click here to Read More