Swaraj Baggonkar And Raghavendra Kamath In Mumbai

Stories by Swaraj Baggonkar And Raghavendra Kamath In Mumbai

Retailers kick growth plans into action

Retailers kick growth plans into action

Rediff.com   1 Jun 2009

With confidence creeping back into the market place and rentals down up to 50 per cent, large retailers are back to drawing up aggressive growth plans. In the next one year, Aditya Birla Retail, Bharti Enterprises, Reliance Retail, Trent, Mahindra Retail and others hope to open new stores spread over five million square feet.

Realty speculators face lock-in clauses

Realty speculators face lock-in clauses

Rediff.com   29 May 2009

Speculators often leveraged volume discounts on property purchases to re-sell them at prices lower than those available to individual buyers. This created problems for realtors when demand slowed, since it put pressure on them to take a hit on margins and lower prices still further. The lock-ins are expected to be introduced mostly for mid-income projects that offer prices 20 to 30 per cent below the market and, therefore, attract more undercutting from bulk discount buyers.

Marriott to add 24 new hotels by '12

Marriott to add 24 new hotels by '12

Rediff.com   27 May 2009

Some of these are regional players, like K Raheja Corporation (Mumbai), Salgaonkar (Goa), Viceroy Hotels (Hyderabad) and Panchshil Realty (Pune). The hospitality major currently has six properties in Mumbai, Goa, Hyderabad and Chennai and operates through five different brands, including Marriott, JW Marriott, Courtyard, Renaissance and Marriott Executive Apartments.

Housing projects are back with a vengeance

Housing projects are back with a vengeance

Rediff.com   27 May 2009

DLF, Unitech, HDIL & Puravankara line up 60 million square feet of new launches. This is more than double the sales bookings in the past financial year.

Bajaj to use KTM alliance to roll out bigger bikes

Bajaj to use KTM alliance to roll out bigger bikes

Rediff.com   26 May 2009

To jointly manufacture complex and powerful engines soon.

Realty ready to roar again

Realty ready to roar again

Rediff.com   25 May 2009

Developers in the past year have restructured debt, sold non-core assets and tweaked the product mix, helping push up sales. This has encouraged investors to buy stocks of real estate companies and motivate analysts to revise price targets and upgrade the outlook on the sector. Reflecting the positive sentiment, the Bombay Stock Exchange Realty Index rose 58 per cent in the past month, outpacing the benchmark Sensitive index's gain of 27 per cent.

Bajaj low-cost bike pegged at Rs 20-24k

Bajaj low-cost bike pegged at Rs 20-24k

Rediff.com   23 May 2009

Production of the 125 cc motorcycle has started in an assembly plant in China, putting the country's second-largest maker a step ahead of competitor Hero Honda, which is also working on a motorcycle reportedly between the Rs 17,000 and Rs 20,000 price point.

TVS allowed to use Bajaj's patented tech

TVS allowed to use Bajaj's patented tech

Rediff.com   19 May 2009

The bench consisting of acting Chief Justice of Madras High Court S J Mukhopadhyaya and Justice Ibrahim Kalifula on Monday set aside the earlier order according to which TVS Motors was restrained from using the twin spark technology, which was patented by Pune-based, India's second largest two wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto.

Realty market fall: Developers find JVs attractive

Realty market fall: Developers find JVs attractive

Rediff.com   19 May 2009

Developers who are launching new projects are opting for this route, as they need not pay the entire amount in one lot and owners need not forego the potential rise in value. As much as 70 per cent of land deals in the country take place through this model now, against 40-45 per cent a couple of years earlier, say property consultants.

Auto companies want cheaper loans for customers

Auto companies want cheaper loans for customers

Rediff.com   19 May 2009

Battered by the recent economic downturn, the Indian automobile industry is looking up to the newly elected government to implement some key measures to kickstart car sales. Top on their wish-list is ensuring availability of auto loans at lower rates of interest, continuation of some of the sops announced earlier in a stimulus package and a reduction in taxes.

M&M may move key models' production out of Nashik

M&M may move key models' production out of Nashik

Rediff.com   16 May 2009

The deadlock between Mahindra & Mahindra and over 4,400 workers at the company's Nashik plant hardened on Friday, with the union saying it was appointing a lawyer to appeal to the Bombay High Court against an industrial court-imposed 48-hour deadline for workers to return to work. The deadline ended today.

Credit flow to real estate eases

Credit flow to real estate eases

Rediff.com   14 May 2009

Developers such as DLF, Unitech and Orbit are in the process of raising around Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion) in the current fiscal after they rolled over nearly Rs 9,000 crore (Rs 90 billion) debt subsequent to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowing banks to restructure loans to developers.

Kawasaki to piggyback on Bajaj

Kawasaki to piggyback on Bajaj

Rediff.com   13 May 2009

For the first time in more than 25 years, Japans Kawasaki Heavy Industries will introduce a high-powered motorcycle in the Indian market with the help of its Indian partner and long-time collaborator, Bajaj Auto.

Nashik strikes a setback for Mahindra's Xylo

Nashik strikes a setback for Mahindra's Xylo

Rediff.com   12 May 2009

The company's Nashik plant, where the Xylo is made, has been paralysed for the past five working days due to an intense labour strike. Although M&M had to ramp up Xylo's production to more than what was projected, it has been falling short of the demand.

Meet the man behind Tatas' nano housing plan

Meet the man behind Tatas' nano housing plan

Rediff.com   11 May 2009

Jamshedpur gave birth to Telco (now Tata Motors) which has just launched the low-cost Nano; Jamshedpur, according to the 35-year old Tata Housing Development Company managing director Brotin Banerjee, is what inspired Tata Housing to launch its Shubh Griha low-cost housing project in Mumbai.

Tata Housing eyes Rs 700 cr from low-cost projects

Tata Housing eyes Rs 700 cr from low-cost projects

Rediff.com   11 May 2009

Tata Housing Development Company, a unit of Tata Sons, expects to earn Rs 700 crore (Rs 7 billion) in revenue from low-cost housing in the next four years, a top company official has said.

Peninsula defers hospitality, new ventures to save

Peninsula defers hospitality, new ventures to save

Rediff.com   11 May 2009

In May last year, Peninsula forayed into the hospitality sector with a joint venture with textile maker and real estate developer, Arrow Webtex. The JV planned to build hotels in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nasik and Kolhapur in Maharashtra. There were also plans to develop hotels in Ahmedabad, Surat, Jamnagar, Mundra port, Goa and Kerala.

DLF targets Rs 55 billion from asset sale

DLF targets Rs 55 billion from asset sale

Rediff.com   4 May 2009

In addition, it is banking on Rs 20 billion of additional inflows from group company DLF Assets. The move follows 33 per cent growth in DLF's gross debt to Rs 163.58 billion at the end of March 2009 from Rs 122.77 billion a year ago. In addition, DLF's revenues fell 28 per cent to Rs 105.41 billion as home buyers deferred purchases and it offered discounts to lure buyers. As a result, its revenues were hit to the tune of Rs 6.88 billion.

Store 99 plans six-fold increase in outlets

Store 99 plans six-fold increase in outlets

Rediff.com   4 May 2009

Store 99, which sells apparels, accessories, cutlery and other items for Rs 99 or below in its 14 stores in North India, is buying merchandise from firms that went into liquidation in the US and Europe to keep prices low, said Shiraz M Javed, a director of the group.

Aditya Birla Nuvo plans 150 new stores

Aditya Birla Nuvo plans 150 new stores

Rediff.com   1 May 2009

It will also close 30 unviable stores. The company's move comes after its net loss widened to Rs 141.2 crore in the March-ended quarter, owing to mounting losses in apparels. The loss was Rs 82.2 crore in the apparel business, against a loss of Rs 4.44 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.