Infrastructure investments expected at USD 1.3 trillion by 2030: CREDAI

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Investments in the country’s infrastructure sector is estimated at USD 1.3 trillion by 2030, real estate body Confederations of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) said.

“We estimate it (infrastructure investments) to be USD 1.3 trillion, across the country. Presently Rs. 65 lakh crore investment is required for the current year,” CREDAI national chairman Kumar Gera told reporters.

Gera said people living in rural areas are expected to relocate to urban areas in another 20 years and added that the requirement in the infrastructure sector in “preferred” cities alone is expected to grow by 90 per cent.

“When people in rural areas move to preferred cities like Chennai, Coimbatore, Pune, Bangalore, the infrastructure sector should be geared to meet the requirements,” he said.

He said CREDAI would convene a meeting soon at Delhi to discuss the ‘poor’ water treatment and sewage management in the country.

On the proposed Real Estate Regulatory Bill, which seeks for a regulator and tax reduction for the real estate sector in the interest of customers, and is likely to be passed, Gera said they were holding talks with government officials in this regard.

“Basically, the bill is aimed to protect the consumer but it will make real estate business more expensive and increase the time line for processing approvals. The bill is in the process of development. We are holding discussions with them…,” Gera said.

CREDAI also urged the Centre to reduce the time to clear processing of application forms for construction of apartments.

“Just because of the time taken for approval, the cost of an apartment becomes expensive… If we reduce the timeline then the ultimate beneficiary will be the customer,” CREDAI national president Santosh Rungta said.

He said some States like Kerala and Gujarat take just 15 to 30 days to process applications compared to an average of six months and suggested a single window clearance.

Shriram Properties scouts for PE funds

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Property developer Shriram Properties Ltd, part of the Rs 25,000 crore Shriram Group, has put its listing plans on hold for at least six months and is scouting for private equity (PE) funds to back new businesses.

To streamline operations, the Bangalore-based Rs 450 crore realty firm is setting up separate verticals for its retail, budget hospitality, and warehousing and logistics businesses, after having shelved these during the downturn. The main firm will maintain its focus on residential projects.

“We will include these verticals now as part of our growth plan…because there are lot(s) of good opportunities in these sectors now,” said M Murali, managing director of Shriram Properties. “We want to take up warehousing seriously as a long-term plan.”

The formal structure of the new businesses in the overall group is yet to be finalised.

Shriram Properties is now looking to buy land, distressed hotels and entire project portfolios, and to raise at least Rs 600 crore from PE firms to fund an extensive line-up of budget housing projects, Murali said. It will keep its plans for an initial public offering (IPO) on the back-burner for six-eight months because of the stock market volatility.

Shriram Properties is one of few real estate firms in India to have received PE investments. Walton Street Capital India Pvt Ltd has so far invested Rs 453 crore in the firm for its residential projects. Earlier this year, Shriram raised another Rs 40 crore from ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd and India Opportunities Real Estate Fund for a housing project in North Bangalore.

The company is also in talks with US-based TPG Capital Lp for about $100 million (Rs461 crore) to fund project acquisitions, said Murali.

The firm has, meanwhile, shelved a four-year-old joint venture with Australian firm Prudentia Investments Pty Ltd, which had planned to invest $100 million in leisure townships in Chennai and Bangalore. Murali said the appetite for luxury townships has dipped since the joint venture was formed. Its core focus in the next few years will instead be on budget housing.

The realty firm recently acquired two land parcels in Bangalore, estimated to generate about 3 million sq ft of residential area. It is scouting for land and projects in Chennai and Coimbatore as well. Overall, the firm has about 8.9 million sq ft for budget housing projects across cities.