Ranju Sarkar And Raghavendra Kamath

Stories by Ranju Sarkar And Raghavendra Kamath

Unitech raises $300 mn for its global fund

Unitech raises $300 mn for its global fund

Rediff.com   17 Jul 2008

Unitech, the country's second largest property developer, has raised $300 million (nearly Rs 1,290 crore) from international investors for its $600 million global property fund.

'I would rather invest in projects than a buyback'

'I would rather invest in projects than a buyback'

Rediff.com   15 Jul 2008

Housing Development and Infrastructure, country's third largest listed realty developer, has forayed into entertainment, power, oil & gas and broadcasting, among others, either directly or by acquiring stake. The company recently acquired a 51 per cent stake in Broadcast Initiatives, promoted by Sri Adhikari Brothers. Sarang Wadhawan talks about his company's plans and projects in an interview with Business Standard.

Tata Power's retail plans may trip

Tata Power's retail plans may trip

Rediff.com   14 Jul 2008

The Supreme Court judgment last week allowing Tata Power to retail power to consumers in Mumbai could pose a few regulatory challenges, experts feel.

M&As turn sour for India Inc

M&As turn sour for India Inc

Rediff.com   3 Jul 2008

After a string of foreign deals in the last few years, including Tata Motors' purchase of Land Rover and Jaguar brands from Ford for $2.3 billion this year, attempts by Indian companies to acquire assets abroad are increasingly hitting roadblocks. At least, the recent attempts by Indian companies suggest so.

Airlines stuck with idle planes

Airlines stuck with idle planes

Rediff.com   2 Jul 2008

The worldwide softness in the sector has ensured there are few takers for these aircraft; those who had leased the aircraft to Indian carriers will invoke a hefty penalty if the machines are sent back to them.

Subhiksha to list via acquisition

Subhiksha to list via acquisition

Rediff.com   30 Jun 2008

Food and grocery retailer Subhiksha has taken the acquisition route to list its shares on the stock exchanges. The company wants to avoid an initial public offer in view of the turbulence in the capital market.

Get ready to pay more for your house

Get ready to pay more for your house

Rediff.com   26 Jun 2008

A day after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the benchmark repo rate and cash reserve ratio (CRR), leading property developers said they are mulling hiking prices of apartments and focusing on the affordable housing segment to counter the impact of a high interest rate regime.

Realty promoters pledging shares to raise funds

Realty promoters pledging shares to raise funds

Rediff.com   19 Jun 2008

Akruti City, Omaxe, Sobha Developers, among other property developers, are pledging shares with lenders to provide additional security, apart from hypothecating properties to borrow funds, according to information submitted to the stock exchanges. Promoters of Akruti, Omaxe and Sobha have pledged their shares with Indiabulls Financial Services, financiers like Dubai-based BankSarasin & Co and Credit Suisse as a liquid security for loans against properties.

Welspun looks beyond Wal-Mart, JC Penny

Welspun looks beyond Wal-Mart, JC Penny

Rediff.com   13 Jun 2008

Welspun USA's e-commerce plans comes at a time when only 3-5 per cent of home textile sales in the US is ordered over the Internet. The New York-based company is targeting the mid to upper end of the American home textile market, pegged around $15-17 billion. A couple of established retailers such as JC Penny have built the online retail model over the last decade.

Developers mull European, Australian listings

Developers mull European, Australian listings

Rediff.com   9 Jun 2008

After Singapore, Indian property developers such as Indiabulls Real Estate and Phoenix Mills among others are looking at London, German and Australian stock exchanges to list their property trusts there.

Dharavi makeover project faces further delays

Dharavi makeover project faces further delays

Rediff.com   29 May 2008

The Rs 9,500-crore Dharavi makeover may be postponed by a few months as the scheme will have to be amended to increase the size of the flats, to be given to slum-dwellers, from 225 sq ft to 269 sq ft, according to builders close to the development.

Talent crunch: India Inc offers 15% salary hike

Talent crunch: India Inc offers 15% salary hike

Rediff.com   27 May 2008

HR firm Hewitt Associates, however, estimates average salaries in India rose 15.2 across sectors for 2008-09 in line with the increases last year (15.1 per cent) and better than the year before (14.4 per cent) despite slowdown in many sectors. At 15.5 per cent, salaries of people in junior management (up to seven years) rose the fastest, followed by middle management (seven to 12 years) at 15.2 per cent, senior management (12 years+) at 14.5 per cent.

'Metro Cash & Carry: It's a low-margin business'

'Metro Cash & Carry: It's a low-margin business'

Rediff.com   14 May 2008

James Scott, Metro Cash & Carry's regional operating officer (Asia) based in Singapore, virtually lives out of a suitcase. With the regional headquarters in Hong Kong and operations across China, India, Pakistan, and Vietnam, Scott travels through the week and gets back home only on weekends.

Liquidity crunch hits realty developers

Liquidity crunch hits realty developers

Rediff.com   1 May 2008

Real estate developers are feeling the liquidity crunch -- the sources of funds are drying up even as they get squeezed from both sides: high interest rates and property prices have hurt offtake while rising steel, cement prices have pushed up input costs 20-25 per cent, which developers have to absorb for now.

M&S banks on Reliance to up retail biz

M&S banks on Reliance to up retail biz

Rediff.com   24 Apr 2008

The UK's Marks & Spencer (M&S) has plans to position itself as a mid-market mass retailer in India and is eyeing a chunk of its revenues from India in the next few years. M&S has severed its partnership with Planet Retail and has entered into a deal with Reliance Retail. Its existing stores will be absorbed in the current partnership eventually. M&S will be positioned as a mid-market retailer in India. It chose Reliance as it moves quickly in its line of businesses.

The man behind Indiabulls' success

The man behind Indiabulls' success

Rediff.com   23 Apr 2008

Gagan Banga talks about how one of India's largest NBFCs still retains the financial discipline of a start-up.

Realty players warm up to PE

Realty players warm up to PE

Rediff.com   21 Apr 2008

The Delhi-based Parsvnath Developers received $47 million (Rs 186 crore) from twoSaffron Group funds to develop a residential and shopping complex on a now-defunct bus depot at Kurla in central Mumbai. The Mumbai-based Lodha Group got $54 million from a HDFC-sponsored, Mauritius-based fund. The fund will take a 45 per cent stake in a special purpose vehicle, which will develop projects in Hyderabad, Lodha said in Mumbai on Thursday.

Buy a flat, get a luxury car free!

Buy a flat, get a luxury car free!

Rediff.com   15 Apr 2008

Goodies and early bird discounts are not a new feature of India's real estate story, but the timing is significant. Real estate prices have climbed off their historic highs in the last six months on account of tighter liquidity and an overall decline in sentiment.

Realty slowdown: Are the numbers right?

Realty slowdown: Are the numbers right?

Rediff.com   15 Apr 2008

The real estate industry is witnessing a slowdown. In anticipation of rates to fall, consumers are postponing their purchase plans. Developers, for their part, are finding it difficult to access cheap credit with banks reluctant to lend to them. Both residential and retail demand has moderated though the demand for office space remains strong. Inspite of this, most property cos are expected to post reasonably good Q4 results. Builders are banking on mid-income projects.

Forex derivative losses haunt Ludhiana firms

Forex derivative losses haunt Ludhiana firms

Rediff.com   11 Apr 2008

Experts (forex consultants and CFOs) estimate the notional losses on derivative products in Ludhiana to be Rs 200 crore to Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion), with a prominent textile player leading the table. But no company is willing to talk about their exposure or losses. A few companies, such as Vardhman Textiles, part of the S P Oswal Group, said they had no exposure.