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RBI warns banks on home loans.
RBI warns banks on home loans.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has intervened to help home loan customers who opted for floating interest rates but have not receive any benefit in almost two years.
The central bank has sought clarity from the Indian Banks Association (IBA), asking why new home loan buyers were lured by lower interest rates but the lower rates did not apply for existing borrowers. The RBI wants to know how existing borrowers are getting the benefit of reduced home loan rates. Most of the schemes announced with reduced rates are applicable only to new customers and this has been a point of contention among existing borrowers.
Teaser loans may be on their way out with Canara Bank and Union Bank of India opting to withdraw the scheme in anticipation of high interest rates. The announcement to terminate the schemes ahead of schedules comes less than a week after Axis Bank closed its fixed-cum-floating scheme.
While Union bank of India has discontinued its fixed-cum-floating rate scheme from February 15, Canara Bank withdrew its special scheme for housing and vehicle loans from February 20.
However, HDFC, the country’s largest mortgage financier, has decided to extend its scheme till end of the month. The country’s largest lender State Bank of India also plans to continue the scheme till the end of March.
Courtesy: Indian Express dated 20/2/2010.
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France’s Carrefour exploring to enter Indian Retail Market.
French retailer Carrefour (CARR.PA) is in talks with Indian companies for a partnership and expects to start its business in India with cash-and-carry activities, the company told Reuters. The world’s second largest retailer, however, declined to give names of the companies it is negotiating with and also did not confirm whether it was in talks with Future Group, which runs Pantaloon Retail (PART.BO), India’s largest listed retailer.
“Carrefour and some Indian companies have been discussing partnerships but we do not want to comment on any of the company we have been talking to,” Carrefour said in a emailed statement to Reuters. Indian media has speculated on a tie-up between Pantaloon and Carrefour to launch franchise stores in India. Earlier this week, Future Group Chief Executive Kishore Biyani told Reuters that his company was in talks with several overseas retailers but declined to specify whether Carrefour was one of them.
Indian regulations do not allow foreign direct investment by multi-brand retailers although they can come in through franchise agreements with local players. Foreign retailers are allowed to invest up to 51 percent in single-brand retail and 100 percent in cash-and-carry ventures. India’s robust economic growth at more than 7 percent and its burgeoning middle-class with greater spending power are magnets for foreign retailers who are facing declining demand in their home markets.
The Indian retail market is estimated to be worth about $450 billion, of which organized retail with a share of 6 percent is growing at more than 20 percent. The restrictions on foreign investments in retail have left overseas players with no choice but to enter the Indian market with domestic partners, or set up cash and carry ventures. “Carrefour will develop its activities in India with the start of cash & carry activities in 2010,” the company said. The French firm has set up two entities in India - Carrefour WC&C India Pvt Ltd to carry on cash and carry business and Carrefour Master Franchise Company Pvt Ltd for its retail business.
Carrefour, which has been scouting the Indian market for nearly seven years, has been meeting local vendors and suppliers to finalize sourcing arrangements for food and non-food items. The company already sources supplies worth about $2 billion from India, according to industry estimates. Wal-Mart which has a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises has set up its cash-and-carry store in north India while Germany’s Metro AG (MEOG.DE) operates around five cash-and-carry stores in the country.
-- Indian Realty News. |
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EXPRESS AVENUE ALL SET TO SOFT-LAUNCH THIS APRIL.
Chennai: Life in Chennai would not be the same anymore. If you want to know what a real Mall is, This Is It! The first of its kind in India.
Express Avenue, the largest mall in South India is a destination in itself. There is something for all age groups, all tastes, leaving you with a desire to keep coming back for more. All this will begin form April when curtains are raised to public for the first time. Hold on to your breath till then!!
85% of the sprawling 800,000 sq ft allocated for retail space, has been leased out to more than 160 popular brands. If you think you are someone and havent already booked your own space yet, you really need to call them now. The leasing cost are being increased form March 1, 2010.
Sathyam to open 8 screens
Funcity to open its largest outlet in the country within the mall
Structure encloses huge central atrium spread over 12,000 sq ft and a central dome at a height of 70
Underground parking facility that can house 2000 vehicles
Located in the Central Business District of Chennai, Express also houses an office tower and a boutique hotel facility - defining the term Shoppertainment Destination.
The architecture of the mall has been designed by none other than Mohit Gujral and the structure incorporates an elegant racetrack design followed by most of the successful malls around the world. Apart fron the esthetics and appeal, some of the prominent features that differenciates Express Avenue includes - unfettered movement around the malls by means of travelators, facilities for the physically challenged, environment friendly features such as natural lighting, water treatment facilities, recycling facilities and low emitting materials used in the construction.
The mall has been conceptualized by Mrs. Kavita Singhania, MD & CEO, Express Infrastructure after indepth research and and extensive travel across the world. All shops are leased out on a Leave & License agreement which ensures highest standard of professional world class management of the Mall.
Source: indiaprwire
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Realty Prices to Increase from July 2010
If you are planning to buy a house, grab it before July, as realty prices are set to increase later. The service tax of 3.3%, announced in the Budget, will be effective on your home from July as the amendments to the Finance Bill will be put into effect in June. Moreover, banks have decided to increase interest rates in the range of 0.25-0.5 percentage points on home loans, which could further be hiked in the forthcoming credit policy. Companies including realty majors like DLF, under the aegis of Delhi-based real estate body National Real Estate Development Council (Naredco), will soon approach the FM for a rollback of service tax.
The property prices are expected to go up with real estate companies passing on the additional burden to buyers. Effectively, someone buying a house property in Delhi will have to pay a service tax of 3.3% on the price of the accommodation and also a stamp duty of 8% as a sale of immovable property. The 3.3% tax will not include the amount to be paid towards special charges like garden facing or community hall facility as these charges will be taxed at 10% of the total charges. However, Sanjay Chandra, MD of countrys second-largest realty firm Unitech says an increase in interest rates is unlikely to affect the demand as the increase is only in trigger rates and hence there is no change in effective interest rates.
The service tax will have some marginal impact, but the market will absorb that for two reasons. One, the change in personal tax slabs will leave more disposable income in the hands of consumer and second, the better prevailing economic conditions are likely to result in at least 10% increase in the salaries of the working class for the next financial year. These two facts will more than offset the marginal impact of service tax, which is expected to be 2% to 3%, he said.
When contacted, Naredco president and realty company Omaxes group chairman Rohtas Goel said, We will hold a meeting of the association to discuss the Budget proposals, particularly levying of the service tax on housing, which will have a negative impact on the realty sector. However, finance ministry officials have said they wont entertain any request for change in the Budget proposal. Central Board of Excise and Customs member YG Parandhe said, We are not taking up the issue as it stands now when asked if there is a possibility to relook at the proposal.
Courtesy: Indiaproperty |
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