FDI in realty to hit $25b

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi

Aug 5: The FDI in real estate will increase by $21 billion to touch $25 billion in next 10 years, said Assocham.

Assocham said that its forecast is based on the fact that real estate in India would be a hot market.

It said that investors are constantly looking at India to park their surpluses as returns on such investments would be the highest in near future.

At present, the domestic real estate market is expected to be of $15 billion in which the foreign direct investment contributions is estimated around less than $4 billion.

The bank credit to this sector by end of 2007-08 has been estimated over Rs 3,50,000 crore which will multiply substantially in the coming years in view of the growth that the sector is expected to register, adds the Assocham analysis.

Assocham expects that the ceiling of 50,000 sq ft would be enhanced to a minimum of 2 lakh sq ft in the next 10 years in a gradual manner and will result in much higher foreign capital’s absorptions.

As the real estate sector opens up, the multiple approvals will have to be done away with, it said.

This will be particularly so because in the Asian region, India is the only country which offers return on commercial and residential properties ranging between 20-25 per cent against 15-18 per cent in rest of Asia.

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CIL to explore Africa

Kolkata, Aug 5: The state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) is eyeing exploration opportunities in Africa, beginning with coal blocks in Mozambique, a top official of the company said on Monday.

"We have identified three blocks in Mozambique already. We are also planning to go to South Africa and Malawi, all in government to government ventures," said CIL chairman, Mr Partha Sarathi Bhattacharyya. "We will acquire coal property abroad through International Coal Ventures Limited (IVCL), a special purpose vehicle formed with other leading state-owned companies to acquire coal assets overseas," Mr Bhattacharyya said.

CIL produced 379.69 million tonnes of coal in 2007-08, against 360.61 million tonnes in the previous year. — Reuters