MAY 27 & 28, 2007

NATIONAL NEWS

PLACE: MUMBAI

Skyrocketing real estate prices strain Asian banks

It’s not just RBI, but International Monetary Fund (IMF) and central banks across Asia too are concerned over the spiraling property prices and the possible impact on the banks’ books. Yet, it should be noted that total financial sector exposure to real estate is higher than suggested by mortgage-lending data alone, as loans to developers or other players — for which data is scarce — could be large, IMF has said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/Real_Estate/Realty_Trends/Skyrocketing_real_estate_
prices_strain_Asian_banks/articleshow/2078385.cms

PLACE: NEW DELHI

Real estate tightrope

Most, if not all, observers of the real estate sector would be inclined to agree that recent price increases have shown signs of being a bit of a bubble. The upward pressure on prices has been caused in part by large inflows from abroad, both directly in the form of external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and indirectly by way of equity investments in real estate companies.

http://www.businessstandard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=285836&leftnm=4&subLeft=0&chkFlg=

PLACE: NEW DELHI

Landed gentry

Et Investor’s Guide had put a ‘buy’ recommendation on the follow-on offering of Patel Engineering (PEL) in May ’06. Firstly, the market correction in May ’06 resulted in a downward re-rating of the construction industry. Secondly, after the Budget, construction stocks lost another 20% on withdrawal of tax sops. Going forward, we remain positive on PEL due to its high- quality order backlog and foray into real estate.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Magazines/Big_Bucks_Inv_Guide/Landed_gentry/articleshow/2078190.cms

PLACE: MUMBAI

'Margin expansion will be gradual'

Remember the famous "5 paisa.com" from India Infoline? After changing the face of on-line trading in India by offering the lowest brokerage rates, the company intends to become a full-fledged financial products and services company. Besides, interest rate sensitive sectors and real estate companies that are highly leveraged will be affected severely by even a small correction of 10-15 per cent in real estate prices as this will affect operating margin of developers in a significant manner. Excess capacity and rupee appreciation is affecting export realization of most of the textile companies.

http://www.businessstandard.com/smartinvestor/storypage.php?leftnm=0&subLeft=2&chklogin=N&autono=285773&tab=r

PLACE: NEW DELHI

External debt - funding enigma

The past few weeks have witnessed a flurry of debates with respect to offshore debt funding in general, and availability of non-equity financing options for real estate projects, in particular.

http://www.businessstandard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=285786&leftnm=3&subLeft=0&chkFlg=

PLACE: AMRITSAR

Punjab govt initiative to boost real estate in Amritsar

Amritsar, the holy city of Punjab is on a roll with the whopping master plan announced by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal which is expected to revamp real estate sector in the city and as well in the state.

http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/4269/38/

PLACE: MUMBAI

Godrej to focus on real estate

The Godrej group, with a turnover of Rs. 7,500 crore, is looking at its flourishing real estate business through group company Godrej Properties Ltd. (GPL) to propel it to the next level. GPL is a 15-year-old company with around 20 million sq. ft. of land under development in Mumbai and surrounding areas, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata. It is in advanced stages of negotiations for projects in several other cities.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/05/27/stories/2007052701201700.htm

PLACE: NEW DELHI

Greater Noida realty rates may fly on airport talks

UP chief minister Mayawati’s push for a second international airport at Greater Noida may come as a shot in the arm for realty players. Real estate analysts expect that capital value of existing residential, commercial, retail and hospitality projects in Noida and Greater Noida are likely to go up in the short term.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Transportation/Airlines__Aviation/Greater_
Noida_realty_rates_may_fly_on_airport_talks/articleshow/2078368.cms

PLACE: NEW DELHI

Invest forex reserves in equities?

According to the latest figures released by the RBI, India’s holding of international reserves have exceeded the $200 billion mark.
This represents nearly four-fold increase from 2001-02. The inflation rate during these two years was around 4.96% and 4.65% implying a real rate of return of around -1.86% and -0.75%. With the inflation rate reaching a three year high, the real rate of return is expected to be even lower this year.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorial/Invest_forex_reserves_in_equities/articleshow/2078347.cms

PLACE: NEW DELHI

Far from the madding crowd

From boomtowns to bean towns. Far away from the hustle and bustle of India’s major cities, small towns are witnessing a quiet revolution in IT. To begin with, they will have to build at least two million sq ft of commercial real estate in the city a year. “Tier-III cities have their own set of infrastructure problems like power, water, communication technology, but these can be addressed, unlike traffic woes in metros,” says Nasscom VP Ameet Nivsarkar.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=165432

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

PLACE: NEW YORK

Hamptons luxuriates in real estate boom

Forget window shopping the photos of million-dollar manses in the real estate shops on Southampton 's Main Street . If you really want to know how the housing market in the Hamptons is faring as summer beckons, Steven Gaines suggests an unusual yardstick.He says the best barometer of how people in the Hamptons are doing is the price of the lobster salad at the local gourmet shop in nearby Sagaponack. Right now, it's $100 a pound.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hamptons28may28,1,5662627.story?coll=la-mininav-business&ctrack=2&cset=true

PLACE: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Industry minister to lead Omani team at India-GCC business meet

Commerce and Industry Minister Maqbool bin Ali Sultan will lead the Omani team at an India-GCC Businessmen's Conference due to open in Mumbai tomorrow. The two-day conference titled 'Gulf and India Investment Opportunities’ will focus on potential for mutual investment in India and the Gulf, particularly in the infrastructure and real estate sectors, and cooperation in the field of energy and petrochemicals.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.aspxfile=data/business/2007/May/busin
ess_May867.xml&section=business&col=

PLACE: MANILA

Palace lauds emergence of OFWs investors

They have emerged as a strong economic sub-sector, infusing a record $10.7 billion into the economy last year alone and fueling the steady rise of the value of the peso against foreign currencies. This time, Overseas Filipinos Workers (OFWs) are showing their clout in the growth of the real estate industry, capital markets and small-and-medium scale enterprises.

http://www.pia.gov.ph/default.asp?m=12&fi=p070527.htm&no=19

PLACE: ITALY

India: Despite Inflation, Glass Rates Drop By 25%

With prices of steel and cement on an upswing, glass is the only building material industry that has registered a drop of 25% in prices in the face of inflation. Says B Santhanam, chairman, IGLASS and president – Flat Glass, South Asia , “This is practically the only building material sector that has registered a drop in rates mainly owing to the huge demand that it is experiencing following the huge real estate boom that the country is witnessing today.

http://www.glassonweb.com/news/index/6093/

PLACE: QATAR

Qatar’s nominal GDP in Q1 falls 1.3% as oil price drops

Qatar’s economy shrank 1.3% in the first quarter of 2007 as the price of crude oil fell, the Planning Council said yesterday. The event will comprise plenary sessions on investing in India, investing in the GCC states and on four sectors – real estate, energy including oil, gas and power, petrochemicals and infrastructure.

http://www.gulftimes.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=151764&version=1&template_id=48&parent_id=28

PLACE: CANADA

India in Uxbridge

With the price of travel so high, who can afford to visit the Taj Mahal in India? Well, let me suggest the next best thing: A short, affordable drive out to the pretty little town of Uxbridge. There, just a few kilometres north, is an incredible sight, especially when viewed in the afternoon setting sun. As a young man, he purchased a butcher shop on Queen St. near Berkeley St. for $50. Spending little on what he deemed frivolous things, Foster invested nearly every dollar he made in real estate and by the time he retired from the meat business in 1890, he was a wealthy man.

http://torontosun.com/Lifestyle/2007/05/27/4211858-sun.html

PLACE: AUSTRALIA

Government in a time of crisis

Everyone knows that the coming federal election is an unusually important one. Australia has undergone dramatic change under the Coalition’s policies, and the poll will tell whether the electorate has seen enough and wants a change, or more of the same. Real estate values will get jittery as weather and rising sea levels take effect. Eventually all this will flow through to the finance sector and a heavily leveraged economy will start to totter.

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=5889

PLACE: JORDON

IFIs Set Pace Through Innovative Acquisitions – Kuwait

Lawyers and bankers in London are putting the final touches to one of the more unexpected acquisitions done by a consortium led by two Kuwaiti Islamic financial institutions, The Investment Dar (TID) and Adeem Investment? That is buying a majority 87.5 percent stake in the iconic Aston Martin Car Company, based at two factories in the UK? One at Gaydon in Warwickshire, and the other at Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire. The Investment Dar Company is one of the fastest growing Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) in the GCC and focusing on real estate and consumer finance business. At end-December 2006, TID had an average market capitalization of $3.35 billion. At end-June 2006, TID had total assets of $2.938 billion and shareholders' equity of $880 million.

http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093154559

PLACE: PHILIPPINES

Clark Open Skies order pushed again

Subic Clark Alliance for Development Secretary Edgardo Pamintuan yesterday urged President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to sign Executive Order 500-B which would effectively implement an ‘‘open skies’’ policy over the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport here. Local groups that have supported Pamintuan’s position are the Clark Investors and Locators Association, Makati Business Club, American Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Real Estate and Builder’s Association, Task Force on Transport and Logistics Export Development Council, the Philippine Travel Agencies Association and the Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement.

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=regions1_may28_2007

PLACE: DUBAI

DWC gets 40pc of aviation infrastructure investment

Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation and Chairman of Emirates Group, yesterday said Dubai World Central (DWC) is forming a major part of Dubai's Dh301.1 billion ($82 billion) investment in aviation infrastructure. He said that 40 per cent, or Dh121.2 billion, of the total investment would be poured into DWC, a city-within-a- city real estate project taking shape at Jebel Ali, home to one of Dubai's economic free zones.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.aspxfile=data/business/2007/May/business_
May863.xml&section=business&col=