TCS enters Gujarat through SEZ

India's largest software services company, Tata Consultancy Services is all set to start its operations in the industrialized state of Gujarat. TCS has taken the SEZ route which is located near InfocCity in GandhiNagar.

The SEZ will be located on a plot of 20 acres with a built ip area of 100,000 Sq Meters and will house 2,500 employees.

SEZs create 80,000 jobs - Mr. Pillai

Mr. G K Pillai, Secretary for Board of Approvals of SEZs claim that 80,000 jobs are created of SEZs approved and operational after passing the 2005 SEZ act. Mr. Pillai's announcement is rightly timed considering the criticism SEZs are facing from various factions of the society and a nationwide protest beginning in Mumbai by the Left parties.

Pillai cited the example of Nokia which has created 2,800 jobs for women in their Chennai manufacturing unit. Close to $700 million investment has already flown into the country. He further added that Motorola would invest $1.5 Billion in Chennai plant and would create 30,000 direct and indirect jobs.

George Soros ups stake in Anant Raj Industries

The kingpin of Asian Financial Crisis, George Soros, who had earlier bought 1% stake in Amit Sarin promoted Anant Raj Industries Limited has now increased his stake in the same company to 2%. George picked about 2.5 lakh shares through open market transactions for a price range of Rs 830-840. Amit Sarin confirmed the development.

Anant Raj Industries, a major player in the ceramics tile industry in the past, now generates more than half of its revenues from the real estate business. Within the real estate sector the company has an interesting business model that involves renting of commercial space which brings fixed revenues every month.

Lets hope that George Soros will not be another Keery Packer of Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited. LOL

Tata Motors Land acquisition Turns Violent

We have been saying from day one that SEZ policy is against many sections of the society. The Central Government under Union Commerce Minister, Kamal Nath which formed flawed and biased SEZ policy all of a sudden realized that fertile farm lands should not be used for SEZ after protest from Left Parties and later from Sonia Gandhi.

Just few hours ago, Mamata Banerjee protesting against the Singur SEZ near Hoogly by Tata Motors Limited was arrested after she joined the poor farmers whose lands are being grabbed as if their is no tomorrow. Farmers are unwilling to part with their fertile lands but looks like the state government had some vested interest and ordered the state police force to intervene which is when the protest turned violent. Trinamool Congress Leader Mamata Banerjee was manhandled and her leading followers are arrested.

Draft Norms for SEZs in India

The controversial SEZ (a.k.a Shangri-La for Real Estate Sharks) policy finally has some norms. This is coming after approval of these SEZs. The commerce ministry in control of the SEZs doesn't have a proper plan or strategy and is being criticized from every walk of life from IMF to the Reserve Bank of India.

Here is a brief outline of the new norms. If You have any objection against the land grabbers, e-mail your complaints to PM India and CC to Commerce ministry.

• Multi product SEZs require net worth of at least Rs 250 crore and a minimum investment of Rs. 1,000 crore.
• Sector-specific SEZs require minimum investment of Rs. 250 crore and the minimum net worth of Rs. 50 crore.
• Developers of sector-specific SEZs can build a maximum of 7,500 houses, a 100-room hotel, a 25-bed hospital and have an office space of up to 50,000 sq. metres in the non-processing area.
• Developers of multi-product zones, can build a maximum of 25,000 houses, a hotel with 250 rooms, a 100-bed hospital and office space of not more than 250,000 sq. metres. However, developers can build houses only in stages and the houses cannot be sold.
• IT SEZs brought under the supervision of STPIs but will take directions from the Commerce Minsitry on policy and complex issues.
  

Don't hesitate to write to the PM of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, who is also the architect of reforms in India.

Strong momentum against SEZ policy in India

With 150 SEZs so far cleared, which together have grabbed 26,800 hectares of land and another 225 SEZs waiting approval are all set to grab an additional 75,000 hectares of land, in and around prime locations of cities, metros, ports and highways illegally displacing lakhs of small agriculturalists and peasants. peasants.

This time the momentum against SEZ is from coalition partners of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the left parties.

Mr. G K Pillai, Special Secretary Commerce Ministry, affirmatively said that,
"I challenge, let them show a single case of any misuse of real estate policy in any SEZ".

Sir, May I ask you where is the necessary for misuse when the policy has been constructed with so many flaws that one can exploit them without any "misuse". Until today their was no regulation as to who could file for an SEZ, even a Panwallah could. But the biased board of approvals of SEZ finally came with guidelines of noteworthiness as to who can actually file for one.

Commerce Minister, Mr. KamalNath has invited a meeting of state government representatives on Thursday to discuss land acquisition policies while the left parties have announced that they will begin a nationwide agitation against the SEZ policy on the same day starting in Mumbai.

CPIM leader, Sitaram Yechury, (Left) in a statement said that,
"... reducing agricultural land for the sake of SEZ is not a correct policy. Agricultural land loss of revenue and the fear of this whole exercise turning into a Shangri-La for real estate sharks. There needs to be 75 per cent of the land kept aside for processing"

WOW! I like that phrase "Shangri-La for Real Estate Sharks" :-)

Rural Development Minister, Raghunvash Prasad is up against SEZ policy makers saying, "The acquisition of agricultural land is a huge issue I am going to speak to the Prime Minister about this. The SEZ policy needs to be re-looked at"

Final Thoughts: Sure lets build the nation, but at whose cost ? Cost of our own citizens, no this isn't acceptable under the idealism of Gandhiji. Lets innovate, build world class products instead of squeezing and making the lives of our own countrymen miserable.

UB City, Bangalore - Destination for the Luxury and Super Rich

You agree or not, like it or not, Bangalore is the most sought after destination for global financial and retail giants. We review one of the most exclusive properties of Bangalore located in the heart of city on Vittal Mallya Road, the UB City, named after a business house, United Breweries (UB Group). Mr. Vijay Mallya, Chairman of UB group has the same charisma as Donald Trump and UB City is his dream project. UB City sprawls over a campus of 7 acres of which a third of it is reserved for landscaped gardens. Just like the Central Park located close to 5th Avenue in NY, UB City is a block away from the lush green Cubbon Park in Bangalore. It is rumored that background checks about solvency and status of the occupants of UB City was conducted before the properties were sold. UB Group will shift all its corporate offices to this tower on your left, "UB Tower". The Chairman ofcourse has his luxurious penthouse which is a closely guarded secret. The splendid tower to your right is the "Concorde". The lower floors of this tower will be destination for retailers and the upper floors reserved for corporate offices. This tower on your left, is the "Canberra". Once again lower floors are reserved for retailers and upper floors are marked for commercial office space. The magnificent building(below) is the "Comet" and in line with Mallya's reputation of Rich and Famous, will host Marriott International, Luxurious Serviced Apartments, High-End retail stores and a worldclass pub. Comet also has a Helipad :-) UB City is expected to open for business in Q2-2007 and when completed will become the most prestigious business district in Bangalore leaving the MG and Brigades behind. If you still don't have the prestigious UB City on your visiting card, then I am afraid, it's too late to hunt for properties in UB City as it was sold out in 2004. You might want to explore other properties in the super rich neighborhood of "Vittal Mallya Road". Properties on Vittal Mallya, MG and Brigade road are free from the earthquake zone as reported by researchers of IISc.

Debt lending to SEZs gets really expensive. Banks to be Hit.

India's highest banking authority, RBI has issued guidelines to Indian and foreign banks operating in India with immediate effect that loans to SEZs be treated as "Commercial Real Estate" loans and not as loans to infrastructure projects. This is a major setback to coporates with SEZ plans and I am in 100% agreement with RBI's direction. This also means, sharp rise in interest rates for SEZs, as commercial real estate has a higher risk weight and requires higher provisioning by banks in their books.

Is the RBI move right ? Experts have lauded and are in total agreement with RBI move. RBI last month had told that SEZ policy would lead to uneven development in India.

Since the last two months, in every report that I have published, I have raised the issue of whether SEZ policy is to promote industry or is it a Land Bank scam ? IMF has also slammed the flawed SEZ policy in India.

Banks that have heavy exposure to commercial real estate are ICICI Bank at Rs 6,984 crore, State Bank of India with Rs 4,574 crore and Punjab National Bank with Rs 2,663 crore. Considering the size and operations of these banks, ICICI and PNB appear to be the most vulenarable to any default by borrowers and will directly affect their bottomline.

Wockhardt SEZ near Shendra in Maharashtra - Good Deal

Wockhardt Pharmaceuticals Ltd has signed a Memorandum of understanding with MIDC to setup a Drugs & Medicines Manufacturing SEZ in Shendra near Aurangabad in Mahrashtra. The SEZ would be spread over 107 hectares of land leased by MIDC at Shendra.

Mr. Habil Khorakiwala, Chairman, Wockhardt said that, "This SEZ will provide the base for a new thrust in international markets that will drive Wockhardt's growth in the coming years. This will make Aurangabad a major Pharma and Biotech hub in Asia".

MIDC is striking really good manufacturing deals under the SEZ policy, unlike other SEZs which are mostly setup for the greed of Land Banks. This is second time that MIDC has done a fantastic deal, earlier one was MIDC Bharaft Forge venture.

VideoCon SEZ in West Howrah

Videocon has asked for change in location for its 2,500 acres multi-product SEZ from Rajarhat to Sankrail or West Howrah near the national highway. Videocon already has two plants in Salt Lake and Taratolla.

Videocon's 100 acres IT & Biotech SEZ will be located at Siliguri.

Bangalore Airport Retail Space Gets Hotter!!!

The retail space for upcoming international airport in Bangalore a.k.a Bengaluru has gotten hotter with International retailing giants like Nuance Group, HMSHost, Gebrueder Heinemann and Dufry International joining the race. Here is an exclusive coverage on the Bangalore International Airport retailing.

IISc Scientists burst Bangalore Real Estate Bubble

Researcher, Dr. Sitharam T G, at the Department of Civil Engineering at Indian Institute of Science today warned Bangaloreans of a possible earthquake due to rampant and irrational development of the cities high rise buildings on waterbodies. They further added that increasing population density and erratic traffic conditions could be contributing factors as well.

Areas in the silicon valley of Asia that are suscptible to earthquakes are Mathikere, Basaweshwarnagar, Hebbal , K R Puram, Vidhana Soudha, GSI, Bangalore Airport and Bellandur Tank. Three areas - Arkavathi River Valley, Koramangala and Hebbal have been identified as most vulnerable areas for earthquake.

Bangalore Real Estate ,
India Real Estate Bubble

Reliance ADAG gets approval for 2,500 acres SEZ

Reliance ADAG group today received land approvals of 2,500 acres from the Uttar Pradesh government. Reliance is planning to setup a multi product SEZ comprising of Reliance Infocomm, Reliance Energy and Reliance One World.

The proposed SEZ is coming up in NOIDA. Official sources denied that the government had been partial to R-ADAG. But we won't deny it :) Reliance Infocomm & Reliance One World are in the domestic services sector and why would they need an SEZ ? What are the going to EXPORT ? Duh! Its all about Land Bank :)

GGP to Invade Indian Commercial Real Estate

GGP - General Growth Properties, worlds second largest Real Estate Investment Trust is all set to invade the commercial real estate space in India. GGP's interests are mainly concentrated in - Shopping Malls.

My insiders tell me that GGP is in negotiations with Rahejas, owners of InOrbit Malls. However, Rahejas are denying all rumours. Why ? Keep guessing or shake hands with me ;-)

India SEZ ,
InOrbit Malls

Reliance ADAG to Invest $3 Billion in Chennai

Splinter Reliance group chairman Anil Dhirubhai Ambani met TamilNadu Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi and pledge to invest Rs12,000 crores in Chennai to setup multi product SEZ with a core of 1000 MW power project linked with desalination plant. The amount of water produced will meet 30 per cent of the current water shortage in city. Another proposal was to build at IT Park (with Rs 2000 crore investment), a world-class convention centre. World looks at Chennai as an IT destination. Union Ministers Dayanidhi Maran was also present during the meeting.

HDFC to Pump Rs3240 crores Foreign Money into Indian Real Estate

HDFC the pioneers in Housing Loans had setup HDFC Real Estate Fund in 2005 to cash in on the countrys booming real estate. The Mauritius-registered and HDFC-sponsored India Offshore Real Estate Investments has been allowed by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs to invest $720 million (Rs 3,240 crore), raised overseas, in units issued by HDFC International Real Estate Fund (IREF). IREF would in turn invest in Indian companies.

No doubt HDFC is a professionally managed company. What is surprising is, inspite of the Indian government allowing retail Indian investors to invest in Real Estate Mutual Funds, HDFC has preferred Foreign Investors over Local Indian Investor. Why is HDFC not raising money from Indian Investors ?

Strict regulations on SEZ coming

You might be aware that I have been criticising and pointing out the loop holes in SEZ policy. Especially the HOTEL SEZ which some vested interest parties in Kerala were lobbying for. The government has finally realized and no more posh hotels, apartments, golf courses in SEZ areas. They will be just restricted to the bare necessity.

Under the restrictions, rampant resale of apartments will not be permitted within a zone. The curbs will depend in part on the location of a zone.

For instance, an infotech zone located in the suburbs of a city like Bangalore may not be allowed to set up a hotel. The logic behind the restriction, officials said, was that clients visiting a zone close to a city could use the latter’s amenities.

According to me, strictly 80% of the land allotted must be used for setting up NEW MANUFACTURING Units. Dhirubhai Ambani said, Create Wealth, don't be Greedy Land Grabbers son :-)

Citi rushes to cash in on Indian Real Estate Boom

After JP Morgan, their Gora Bhai, Citigroup Property Investors is investing in Pune based Real Estate company, Gera Developers. The entire project cost is estimated at around Rs550 crores.

OK. I am sure you are desperately searching for the place where this property development project is coming up. Kharadi in Pune :-) Its a high end project. 600 apartments + country club + hotel on a area of 2 Million SFT. Citigroup Properties has also set aside $360 Million for investments in India.

Kerala plans product specific SEZs

The State Industries Minister, Mr Elamaram Kareem, has said that the Government would set up three product-specific special economic zones in the State. They are for Textiles, Gems and Jewellery and Multi-Product SEZs. While the textile SEZ will come up at Kanjikode in Palakkad, the Gem and Jewellery zone will be established at nearby Kalamassery and the multi-products one in Kasargode.

According to the Minister, the State had so far received approval for six SEZs, including three product specific SEZs of Kinfra in the sectors of animation and gaming, electronics and food processing. Besides, the Union Commerce Ministry has approved three proposals for SEZs at Info Park in Kochi, Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram and a port-based SEZ at Kochi port, he added.

Mr P.H.Kurien, Secretary, Investment Promotion, said on the occasion that a leisure SEZ was under consideration, for which a report had been prepared by a consulting agency. What ??? Leisure SEZ ??? You mean you want to promote hospitality and tourism and want a tax break, free land, etc? God gimme a break!!! Trust me if the Ministry of Commerce approves something liek a leisure SEZ, then every Politican in India will have a leisure SEZ assocaited with him.

The SEZ policy of the Centre is going to play a crucial role in the next decade in the country in employment generation, increasing exports, investment, introduction of new technology and creation of world-class infrastructure. So Kindly use it for the right purpose.

SEZ in Kerala , Gem Jewellery