Distribution of company announcements to the professional platforms, finance portals and syndication of important corporate news to a wide variety of news aggregators and financial news systems.
Sydney, Dec 20, 2005 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Leading developer Unitech and Australian giant Macquarie Bank (ASX: MBL) are planning to float a Rs 1,000-crore realty fund in January 2006, according to market sources. The fund may be further expanded, depending on investor response. Macquarie Bank was in news recently when it participated in a JV with the Sterlite Group in the bid for the big-ticket Delhi and Mumbai airport upgradation programme, where consolidated investments to the tune of Rs 12,600 crore was to be committed for over 15-20 years.
Real estate investments in India is one of the hottest options available to international players looking for high return on investments. The Australian bank and its associated arms have been eyeing opportunities in India for some time now, sources said. Earlier this year, its chairman David Clarke had even announced plans to extend its stockbroking and corporate finance presence into India, with an office in Mumbai.
In line with its Asia focus, Macquarie Bank's property division has also acquired strategic stake in the Singapore-listed $1bn ($4.6bn) Prime Reit (real estate investment trust). Another major transaction has been the acquisition of nine retail malls in China with a syndicate of institutional investors.
Real estate consultants say most of the funds come with a lifecycle of 8/10 years and investors typically look at a return on investment of 30%. With land prices escalating rapidly in markets like Delhi (national capital region), Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune, and the government paving the way for FDI, more investors are lining up for a slice of action in real estate.
Some of the big ticket deals firmed up recently - such as the Rs 700 crore plus NTC land buy deal by DLF in Mumbai - may need the support of multiple investors.
As a result, most of the funds floated in recent past have received strong response from investors. The successful floats - fully subscribed or still in market - include about $240/$250m by ICICI, $100m Kotak, $230m HDFC, $110m IREO, $100/$125m Fire Capital (Dalmias), $100/$150m Santa Fe Partners, $50/$70m Allahabad Bank.
Sources add that around half a billion dollar of investment has already come into the real estate sector in the last six months. Over the next 18-30 months, the flow may rise to a whopping $7/$8bn.
Source: India Times GIRISH RAO http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1333927.cms
