Joydeep Ghosh &Amp; Raghavendra Kamath In Mumbai

Stories by Joydeep Ghosh &Amp; Raghavendra Kamath In Mumbai

FMPs: Upset with mutual funds, investors shy away

FMPs: Upset with mutual funds, investors shy away

Rediff.com   4 Nov 2008

Though the fund houses have garnered over Rs 1,500 billion from investors, only 8-10 would declare their monthly FMP portfolios till a few months ago. Instead, they gave 'indicative portfolios' and 'indicative returns' to the potential investor. This month, all fund houses declared the portfolios of their schemes because of the half-yearly results. And, to the horror of many investors, the real portfolios were 80-90 per cent different from the 'indicative portfolios.'

Realtors double broker commission

Realtors double broker commission

Rediff.com   29 Oct 2008

In upmarket areas like Bandra and Khar, the going brokerage is as high as 4 per cent

Buy a flat and get another flat, BMW, Merc free

Buy a flat and get another flat, BMW, Merc free

Rediff.com   27 Oct 2008

Within months of charging the moon, Indian real estate firms are now offering buy-back of properties, free cars and even free apartments to tide over the current slump which has seen sales halve from the beginning of the year.

Despite slump, Biyani opens 150 stores in 3 months

Despite slump, Biyani opens 150 stores in 3 months

Rediff.com   20 Oct 2008

At a time when most retail firms have either gone slow in opening new stores or closed down some to beat the ongoing slump, the Future Group has opened nearly 150 stores across all its formats over the past three months. This month alone, Biyani is opening 15 stores, mainly selling electronic and lifestyle goods.

Liquid-plus funds see negative NAVs

Liquid-plus funds see negative NAVs

Rediff.com   15 Oct 2008

Last week was unprecedented in the history of the Indian mutual fund industry-- the net asset values (NAVs) of nearly a dozen liquid-plus funds fell.

Reliance Brands calls off JV plan with Sixty Group

Reliance Brands calls off JV plan with Sixty Group

Rediff.com   14 Oct 2008

The JV was expected to open 56 exclusive high-end stores for the four focus brands, Miss Sixty, Energie, Killah & Murphy&Nye, in the top 10 cities in the first three years. As per the original plans, Darshan Mehta president and chief executive of Reliance Brands, was to spearhead the JV with separate business heads for each of the four brands.

Tatas hire Aditya Birla Retail's marketing head

Tatas hire Aditya Birla Retail's marketing head

Rediff.com   13 Oct 2008

Last year, Trent had entered into a tie-up with The Xander Group wherein Xander was to invest in malls along with local developers and Trent was to be the anchor tenant. Currently, three-to-four such malls are being developed in cities such as Surat and Ahmedabad.

Defaults threaten fixed maturity plans

Defaults threaten fixed maturity plans

Rediff.com   8 Oct 2008

Fixed maturity plans, which have garnered Rs 102,133 crore (Rs 1021.33 billion) of average assets under management, are facing the prospect of rising defaults on their investments in the real estate and non-banking financial companies. This implies that if there are redemption pressures from their corporate and retail clients, these FMPs would have to raise cash from other resources to meet the demand.

Railways sweeten Mumbai land offer

Railways sweeten Mumbai land offer

Rediff.com   7 Oct 2008

The land development arm of the railways has cut the reserve price for a 45,371 square metre plot at Bandra, a Mumbai suburb, by nearly 14.5 per cent, to Rs 39.60 billion and reduced the minimum networth requirement for bidders by a similar margin. It has also reduced the bid security amount by 20 per cent. This apart, the authority has more than doubled the payment period to five years.

Realtors blink, cut home prices up to 25%

Realtors blink, cut home prices up to 25%

Rediff.com   6 Oct 2008

Most realtors are already advertising cash discounts of 5-10 per cent on upfront payment and buyers can get up to 25 per cent discount if they book properties and are willing to wait for two to three years until possession. According to consultants, developers may even give 15-20 per cent discount on the price as they are eager to clear inventories.

Banks unlikely to offer festival discounts

Banks unlikely to offer festival discounts

Rediff.com   1 Oct 2008

Prospective home buyers, who are looking forward to discounts this festival season, may be in for a rude shock. According to banking sources, most banks are unlikely to offer any discount.

Navratri effect: Realtors launch new projects

Navratri effect: Realtors launch new projects

Rediff.com   1 Oct 2008

Despite a slowdown in property sales, realty developers across the country are launching new residential apartments during the ongoing Navratri festival in the hope that they will get higher sales from prospective home buyers, who have deferred their buys so far.

Fashion is Rs 18 bn biz for S Kumars' Brandhouse

Fashion is Rs 18 bn biz for S Kumars' Brandhouse

Rediff.com   29 Sep 2008

Brandhouse manages exclusive stores of four SKNL brands -- Reid & Taylor, Stephens Brothers, Belmonte, and Carmichael House -- and two foreign brands Dunhill and Escada. It has more than 600 stores now. The company plans to set up its first private label store early next year and the average size of the store will range from 8,000 to 10,000 sq ft, said Tarun Joshi, managing director of Brandhouse Retails, the retail unit of S Kumars Nationwide.

Diwali unlikely to light up real estate market

Diwali unlikely to light up real estate market

Rediff.com   29 Sep 2008

Analysts say prices may stagnate or decline in the next three months. Almost 70 per cent of the brokers who participated in the poll believe prices will be flat or negative in the period and even Diwali is unlikely to lift the mood in the property market.

Finance firms bank on emails to calm fears

Finance firms bank on emails to calm fears

Rediff.com   24 Sep 2008

In times like these, when the financial industry is reeling under the pressure of scepticism, communication has become the most important tool for financial services providers. Hence the flood of emails to associates, employees and investors.

Lehman meltdown makes realtors run for funds

Lehman meltdown makes realtors run for funds

Rediff.com   23 Sep 2008

Real estate companies such as Unitech, Peninsula Land, HDIL and Future Capital, the financial services arm of Future Group, are in talks with investors including some leading private equity funds for raising investments for their projects, after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, whose third party fund had promised investments in these property companies' projects, according to industry sources.

Four banks to bail out Lehman's India businesses

Four banks to bail out Lehman's India businesses

Rediff.com   22 Sep 2008

In a move to soften the blow of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy in the Indian stock and asset markets, four banks are set to take over its structured products businesses in India.

Pay up before the auction action begins

Pay up before the auction action begins

Rediff.com   9 Sep 2008

Home loan borrowers perpetually worry about the consequences of defaulting. And whether they wish it or not, there could be situations where they are forced to do so. For instance, after the Mumbai bomb blasts on July 11 2006, a large number of affected families found themselves in deep financial trouble leading to difficulties in servicing their home loans

Subhiksha to foray into durables retail

Subhiksha to foray into durables retail

Rediff.com   9 Sep 2008

Recently, IT czar Azim Premji bought a 10 per cent stake in Subhiksha through his personal investment arm for nearly Rs 230 crore, valuing the retailer at Rs 2,300 crore. Premji's firm purchased this stake from ICICI Venture. However, this time around, Subhiksha promoters are expected to issue fresh equity to investors and expect the valuation to be around Rs 3,800 crore, sources said.

Austerity steps to help Future Group save Rs 165cr

Austerity steps to help Future Group save Rs 165cr

Rediff.com   1 Sep 2008

The group, which employs nearly 26,000 employees, plans to cut employee costs by one per cent, or Rs 65 crore (Rs 650 million), in the current year by redeploying people in its various businesses and reducing new hirings. "Instead of external hiring, we have redeployed a part of our people resources from our mature businesses to the new ventures," Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani said.