Caisse may invest $1.6 billion in Indian real estate

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, Canada's biggest pension-fund manager, plans to invest in Indian real estate for the first time and may spend up to $1.6 billion there in the next five years.

SITQ, the Caisse office-building unit that owns about $10.6 billion worth of property, may have as much as 15 per cent of its assets in India by 2012, chief executive Paul Campbell said. SITQ currently has no investments in the country.

The fund manager is moving into the world's second-most populous nation to boost returns as rising borrowing costs make U.S. assets less attractive. Real estate development in the country is forecast to increase to $90 billion (U.S.) by 2015 from $12 billion in 2005, Moody's Investors Service said in a June report.

Are amusement parks the answer to soaring real estate prices?

As the real estate sector surges ahead in the country, new formats are being introduced by developers in a bid to offer something new as well as stay afloat in this period of slowdown. One of the more lucrative formats is the concept of new age, world-class amusement parks-cum-malls. There are around 150 parks in India, with 10-15 coming up over the next few years. Worth Rs 3,000 crore, the industry has been growing at 25 per cent per annum during the last five years, according to industry experts.

Goa finds place on the real estate growth bandwagon

Famously known as the city of beaches, Goa has its name on every tourist's itinerary. Be it an Indian or a foreign tourist, everyone goes to Goa at least once a year and given a chance many of us would jump with joy at the thought of owning a spectacular beachside home in this yesteryear Portugal colony. No wonder then, Goa has found its place on the real estate growth bandwagon and has shown impressive results in terms of demand on the buying side.

Global real estate funds build hope on Indian market

MUMBAI: Escalating interest rates, perception of a real estate asset bubble and aftershocks of US subprime credit defaults have not dampened the spirits of overseas funds looking to invest in the Indian realty sector.

In the past nine months, overseas funds have raised around $2.4 billion towards investment in real estate projects; and if estimates are to be believed another $1.1 billion will flow in before the end of this year — taking the grand total to a whopping $3.5 billion. Real estate fund-raising continues to boom in 2007 following strong returns from real estate firms.

Foreign funds raise $30 b for Indian realty investment

Bangalore: Foreign funds and institutions have, till date, raised approximately $30 billion to be invested in Indian real estate with an estimate of $3 billion that has been committed, according to real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.
The industry is progressing up the learning curve, and the spectrum of private equity transactions range from project-specific special purpose vehicles (SPVs) to entity-level investments.

Real Estate in India: A Survival Guide

India has experienced near-double-digit growth in the last several years and stories of the Indian economic juggernaut fill newspapers and bookstores. The commercial real estate market is no exception. The IT boom has created a huge demand for quality office space that was nonexistent a few short years ago. Several prominent Indian developers have emerged, and more and more international investors and developers are plunging into the country. As with any local or regional market, there are many idiosyncrasies that color the business environment, and India is no exception. Below is an introduction into the current conditions within the Indian real estate market and what the future may hold as India quickly becomes a global superpower.

India real estate developers looking at newer financing options

Big residential townships, SEZs (special economic zones) and mega retail malls are prominent among the recent trends in the real estate landscape. To cope with these mega developments, the developers are looking at various options of financing, says Mr. R. Venkatesh, Regional Director, Transaction Advisory Services, Ernst & Young, Chennai.
“While debt funding, private equity (PE), IPO (initial public offer) route shall continue to happen, though at realistic and reasonable valuations, new avenues such as listing of REITs (real estate investment trusts) at overseas exchanges is expected to attract developers’ attention to plan their fund raising exercise,” he adds, during an email interaction with Business Line.