For developers who came out of a prolonged slowdown of 2008-09, the fund raising spree could be dangerous, say consultants.
Tata Motors now eyes the US, European and African markets.
Faced with stiff competition from rivals and in a hurry to draw footfalls, hypermarkets are indulging in intense price war.
Three large property deals have already been finalised this year in Mumbai.
Kishore Biyani's Future Group is getting its act together on supplying its private labels outside the group's 1,000-odd outlets, even as Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail has already marched ahead by starting to sell some of its private brands to kiranawalas (independent stores).
The devil is in the detail for the real estate sector. Though the Budget gave sops to home buyers in the form of tax savings and interest rate subvention, it quietly brought back service tax on lease rentals in the Finance Bill.
Rustomjee Business School, promoted by realtor Boman Irani, stands tall on S V Road in Mumbai's Dahisar area. Just a year ago, it was the site of an equally impressive Mega Mart promoted by Vishal Retail.
Several cities see a fall of up to 36% in sales, even as Mumbai region continues to grow.
The deal size could be in excess of Rs 2,000 crore, though this could not be verified. Sivasankaran had invested close to Rs 1,800 crore in 2007 to take a 41 per cent stake in Aamby Valley. The Sahara Group is the majority investor, with a 51 per cent stake.
The last date for receiving EoIs is February 28, after which a new reserve price will be announced.
Apartment prices at Planet Godrej, a premium residential property developed by Godrej Properties in the tony Mahalaxmi area of Mumbai, had come down to as low as Rs 17,000 to Rs 18,000 a sq ft in the property market slowdown last year.
Kishore Biyani's Future Group has seen a turnaround in home retailing after months of decline, on the back of improved consumer sentiments and focused merchandising plans, a key group executive said.
The Maharashtra government has decided to increase floor space index (FSI) to 3 from the current 2.5 for buildings which have come up between 1940 and 1960. The decision opens up the possibility for redeveloping 16,461 old buildings.
Litigation, regulations and the process of seeking approvals have also discouraged some developers.
Reliance Brands, a group company of Reliance Industries, began operations two years earlier to launch premium-to-luxury domestic and international brands and also set up retail stores for them.
After the euphoria, "affordable" realty developers are faced with the reality of excesses.
Because of oversupply and rising vacancy levels in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, among others, rentals are expected to remain stagnant in the next six months or see a further fall of 10-15 per cent.
Even as the Indian IT industry is studying the fine print of the European Union (EU) to expand the scope of value-added-tax (VAT) from January 1, to include services like back-office operations, call centre work and administrative services delivered from non-EU nations (including India), it does not appear to be unduly perturbed.
The growing margins suggest that the belt tightening is paying off. For example, the margins of Pantaloon Retail, the country's largest listed retailer, have gone up from 9.2 per cent in June last year to 10.6 per cent in June 2009.Others such as the Raheja-owned Shoppers Stop and Tata Group's Trent, Reliance Retail and Spencer's Retail aren't far behind.
Sales grew only 5-10% last year on weak consumer sentiments