TCS plans to buy Rs 300 crore land and to add 40000 workforce in Bangalore

IT major, Tata Consultancy Service is in the process of buying 35 acre SEZ plot in Bangalore suburb Whitefield for a total consideration of over Rs 300 crore.

"Salarpuria Sattva is aggregating land for TCS and the land deal is expected to conclude shortly. When fully complete, the new campus will accommodate up to 40,000 professionals with the potential to develop 3mn sft," said three people having direct knowledge of the development.

A detailed email sent to TCS did not elicit any response.

Currently, land value in Whitefield ranges between Rs 12 core and Rs 20 crore per acre.TCS currently occupy 3 lakh sft in Gopalan SEZ in Whitefield.

The construction for the new facility is expected to be completed within 36 months from the date of commencement.

As of September 30, 2011, TCS employed 214,770 professionals. The Mumbai headquartered company has a global presence with 145 offices in 42 countries and 106 delivery centers in 20 countries, according to company's website.

Whitefield (east of Bangalore) has seen at least a dozen land transactions in the last few months due to lower land prices and rising demand among corporate.

Recently, Shriram Properties purchased 27 acre for Rs 146 crore, RMZ Corp has bought 28 acres for Rs 133 crore and Total Environment Building Systems picked up 18-acre for Rs 150 crore.

According property consultancy firm, Colliers International, peripheral business district (PBD) of outer ring road (ORR), Whitefield, electronic City and North Bangalore are being preferred by corporates looking for consolidation and expansion plans.

Whitefield is seen as a cost-effective market for office space compared to ORR with Grade A office space rentals at Rs 28 per sft.

"In 2010-2011 there were demand for office space in ORR but the availability was zero. This has helped the demand to move to whitefield as the rentals are 40% cheaper there," said Colliers International regional director- commercial lease Goutam Chakraborty said.

Bangalore recorded total absorption of 7 mn sq ft till Q3 of CY 2011, an increase of 20% over last year. Approximately, 0.41 million sq.ft. of office space was released into the whitefield and electronic City
micro markets, whilst absorption was estimated at around 0.4 million sq.ft, mentioned a report by CBRE, world's largest real estate consultancy firm.

The third quarter saw stronger leasing activity with HUL's lease of 400,416 sq ft in Prestige Shantiniketan, Airbus taking 1,20,000 sq ft in Xylem, Broadcom leased 2,60,000 sq ft in RMZ Ecospace and NetApp picked up 1,12,029 sq ft in Embassy Golf Links.

Bangalore best Indian city to live: Global Survey

Pipping past the four metro cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, the southern technology hub Bangalore has emerged as the best city to live in India, a global survey said today.

Despite its top Indian ranking, Bangalore's worldwide rank is very low at 141st position in a list of 221 cities globally in terms of standard of living, compiled by the 'Quality of Living Survey - Worldwide Rankings, 2011' by the global HR (human resources) consultancy major Mercer.

Vienna has been ranked as the world's best city to live in on the global list, which has five Indian cities -- Bangalore (141st), New Delhi (143rd), Mumbai (144th), Chennai (150th) and Kolkata (151st).

Globally, Vienna is followed by Zurich, Auckland, Munich, Dusseldorf, Vancouver, Frankfurt, Geneva, Copenhagen and Bern among the top-ranked cities in terms of quality of living, Mercer said.

In another list of the world's best cities in terms of personal safety standards, Luxembourg has been placed on the top, followed by Bern, Helsinki, Zurich, Vienna, Geneva and Stockholm.

On this list, Indian cities have been ranked a little better, as Bangalore has got 117th place, New Delhi and Kolkata shared the 127th position, Mumbai is at 142 and Chennai is placed at 108th.

Bangalore has been ranked as the best Indian city both in terms of quality of living and the personal safety standards.

The personal safety ranking has been on measures of internal stability, crime levels, law enforcement effectiveness and host-country's international relations. 

A host of Indian and foreign IT companies, as also many multinational companies from other sectors, have set up shop in Bangalore for their outsourcing and R&D (research and development units).

On the other hand, Mumbai plays host to the companies mostly from the financial services sector, being the financial capital of the country, while New Delhi's attraction has been its status as the national capital. Chennai and Kolkata are have also been catching up fast in the recent past as major industrial hubs within the country.

About the survey, Mercer said that many cities in Asia have fared badly due to issues like political turmoul and lack of suitable infrastructure.

"Many Asian cities rank at the bottom, due to social instability, political turmoil, pollution, disease and sanitation issues, natural disasters such as typhoons and tsunamis, and lack of suitable infrastructure," Mercer's Asia Pacific leader for Global Mobility Phil Stanley said.

Globally, Baghdad (Iraq) has been ranked as lowest in terms of quality of living at 221st position. Other cities with the lowest quality of living are Khartoum, Sudan (217), Port-au-Prince, Haiti (218), N'Djamena, Chad (219), and Bangui, Central African Republic (220).

In terms of safety standards also, Baghdad is ranked the worst as the worst's least safe city at 221st position, preceded by N'Djamena, Chad (220), Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (219), Bangui, Central African Republic (218), and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (217).

Within Asia-Pacific region, Auckland (3) is the highest-ranking city for quality of living, followed by Sydney (11), Wellington (13), Melbourne (18) and Perth (21).

The highest-ranking Asian cities are Singapore (25) and Tokyo (46), Hong Kong (70), Kuala Lumpur (76), Seoul (80) and Taipei (85).

At the same time, Phnom Penh, Cambodia (186), Yangon, Myanmar (196) and Dhaka, Bangladesh (204), have been ranked lowest in the region.

Mercer said that the rankings would help the companies in assigning their employees on assignments across the world.

Slagin Parakatil, Senior Researcher at Mercer, commented: "Companies need to keep on top of current developments to ensure that their compensation packages remain competitive and continue to motivate expatriate employees."

Metro scales up property value Prices may go up substantially only after the entire stretch is completed

With parts of Namma Metro finally seeing the light of day, home buyers and realtors in the city are abuzz with talks of capitalising on its launch.
The question on everyone's mind is how much would the Metro boost their property value? For those awaiting their property to appreciate in value, hold your guns. Industry experts suggest it is still too early for the full impact of the metro to be known, though the future looks bright.
"It is still premature to say how future prices will appreciate. From a property perspective, however, at the moment a very small stretch is operational. So the impact on real estate is negligible," said K S Girish, local director, Strategic Consulting, Jones Lang LaSalle India.
Due to the heavy traffic and road infrastructure in the city, people here would definitely value having homes close to the Metro station, said P Ravindra Pai, managing director, Century Real Estate Holdings.
Any residential purchase made now near Metro terminals would be more from a convenience point of view, rather than for investment value, he said.
"Seeing Phase I of the Metro go live, it seems more real and people are optimistic of seeing the completed Metro now," said Pai, expecting an upward correction of 15% to 20% of properties along the present network, as opposed to others in the same locale.
However, once phase I is completed, experts predict Bangalore to follow along similar lines of the Delhi Metro, expecting an appreciation of 20% to 30% in the next two years after completion.
Although only a 6.5 km stretch of Namma Metro is up and running, it has generated a feel good factor among the public.
"This will help in fetching good premiums around the Metro," said Girish, "Particularly, retail properties benefit most appreciation in value, owing to the increased footprint," Pai said.
Sushil Mantri, president of CREDAI Karnataka and CMD Mantri Developers, said: "It is definitely a win-win situation to hold a property near the Metro. For those looking to cut down on commuting costs, it is wise to purchase now, as costs will only go upwards. Land prices around the Metro have already increased."
He said the government, too, has started encouraging investments in these areas.
This should ease the real estate prices in and around the CBD area, as locales along the periphery too would have good connectivity to the city.
"Although high-end developments will not be impacted much by the Metro, those purchasing mid-segment properties are willing to move 2km to 5km away from their prime locations to a bigger property with more conveniences and at lower costs," Mantri said.
"This will also reduce congestion at the city centre," he said.
Citing Mumbai as an example, JC Sharma, managing director, Sobha Developers, said: "Previously, the eastern part of the city had better accessibility thanks to the airport being situated there. But now prices in West Mumbai have skyrocketed with the introduction of the local train service. I expect a similar price phenomenon to happen along the Metro lines here."
For the moment, industry stalwarts recommend holding on to any property one might have along the metro route. The full benefits of the metro connectivity will only be achieved once the entire phase is completed, thus prices too will not go up exponentially until such a time. "If you have a residential property and are looking to sell, its best to hold onto it until the construction is complete, then exit or convert your properties into a commercial development," Girish said.

Bangalore losing out on the 'IT hub' tag?

Bangalore Based Aditi Technologies acquires US cloud computing firm

Software major Aditi Technologies acquired the US-based cloud computing start-up Cumulux for an undisclosed sum to offer cloud services and drive applications and workloads over a network, the company said Monday.

“We are betting our business on cloud computing, which will give competitive advantage to customers as we have demonstrated our domain expertise in building solutions on Windows Azure for Microsoft’s independent software vendors (ISVs) and enterprises in partnership with Cumulux,” Aditi chief executive Pradeep Rathinam said in a statement. As global software major Microsoft’s national system integrator partner, Aditi focuses on enterprise social, big data, mobile and digital marketing. “As a valuable partner for Windows Azure in the ecosystem, our customers will have opportunities to leverage the scale and depth of Aditi and Cumulux for driving their businesses,” Microsoft vice-president Jenni Flinders said. The Bangalore-based Aditi will leverage its Microsoft alignment to roll out cloud services to software vendors and enterprise markets in the US, Britain and India. The partners have till date helped about 50 ISV and e-commerce customers adopt and deploy Azure through the Azure acceleration lab. “Kicking off a global launch, we will build an Azure delta force of architects and multi-vendor partners to drive Azure adoption in collaboration with Microsoft across the three geographic regions,” Rathinam said. Aditi will also hire and train 130 cloud developers to build a cloud services platform for delivering internet protocol-led innovations for customers as they migrate their applications to the cloud. “The synergy of our global scale and strong Microsoft DNA make us one of the top Azure service providers in the market. Aditi will give our customers competency and scale in leveraging Azure to build large scale complex solutions,” Cumulux chief executive Paddy Srinivasan noted. Post-acquisition, Srinivasan will join Aditi’s cloud advisory board and continue to drive Azure business.

Japanese IT Firm Fujitsu To Set Up Delivery Centre In Bangalore

Tokyo-headquartered IT company Fujitsu Ltd will expand its presence in India by opening a new service delivery center in Bangalore. The move will help the company grow its business in the country and offer its IT services to key Indian companies. The company has already set up delivery centres in Pune, Noida and Hyderabad. The Bangalore centre will cater to several verticals including consumer packaged goods, retail, life sciences & healthcare, logistics, energy & utilities, infrastructure, agriculture, automotive and financial services.

“The creation of new services and businesses in Bangalore will accelerate the company’s vision for globalisation. Fujitsu has a strong Japanese heritage of customer-centricity, long-term relationships and quality of service. We will continue this tradition from our Bangalore facility as well,” said Rajeev Gupta, president of Fujitsu Consulting India.

Fujitsu is the third largest IT company in Japan with nearly 170,000 employees supporting customers in more than 100 countries. The company has consolidated revenues of $55 billion in FY2011.

Bangalore, the hub of architecture

Nita and Indrajit Kembhavi (inset); a project they designed

Modern architecture is a fast developing field and has been quite in demand, of late. With going green being the norm, several architecture firms in the country are focusing on eco-friendly ideas and designs. After Hrs puts together a list of trends that seem to be taking over the city. And who best to ask than an entire family full of architects. The firm, Kembhavi Architects, was set up in the year 1972 by Sharad and Nalini Kembhavi. Today, they are joined by their children Indrajit and his wife Nita, and Parth and his wife Sowmya — all architects. Here’s a glimpse into this creative set up...

Family ties

A family of six architects! Indrajit Kembhavi reveals, “Even though my parents set up Kembhavi Architects, my brother and I were under no pressure to take up architecture as a career. But our parents did inspire us to make it a part of our lives. I met my wife at the BVB college of architecture at Hubli. Both of us worked as trainees in the firm before branching out in Bangalore a couple of years back,” he reminisces.

Living ideas in Bangalore

Moving to Bangalore meant expansion on various levels. Indrajit says, “It did not make sense for all six of us to operate out of just one city. Which is why some of us set up a branch in Bangalore. As far as the architectural growth in India is concerned, Ahmedabad was the most sought-after destination until some years back. But today, Bangalore is the centre of architecture in India. We have seen path-breaking work in the city and the people here are open to new ideologies too, which is a great sign.”

Earth matters

Going green is the mantra today. There is a need for reducing our carbon footprint and going eco-friendly. Keeping that in mind, Indrajit and his wife Nita work on solar passive architecture.

“Having a block of stone in your house doesn’t make your home eco-friendly. There are several factors like thermal conditions, pollution control, and power saving factors that makes it an eco-friendly building. When we started in Hubli, we worked on projects that give a rather cooler atmosphere. Later, we started solar passive architecture that is into promoting eco-friendly atmosphere. We make sure that the cost is economical too,” says Indrajit.

The trends

With several industries witnessing great innovations in their sector, what does architecture have in store? Says Indrajit, “There has been a marvellous growth in the field of architecture. It is great to see several foreign firms setting up base here. Though there is room for competition, we have the advantage of sharing expertise and experiment with varied thinking.” So, what are some of the trends that we can look forward too? “When modern architecture came into the country, there was confluence in bringing together western architecture along with Indian. But now, it’s great to witness several firms adopting the south-Asian tropical designs for their homes. I find this to be a major trend in terms of design value,” he informs.

Woman power

Earlier, accepting women as architects was a rather tough task. But today, we have several popular woman architects that clients prefer to work with. Has it been a tough journey for Nita, we probe.

“Since my mother-in-law is also an architect, I haven’t really come across any such bias or challenge. Today, several clients find it easier to convey their requirements to a woman architect rather than a male one,” says Nita. But does the fact that several woman architects branch out into interior designing change the way they are perceived? “Sometimes, even I wonder why women branch out into interior designing. However, it is an individual’s perspective. Some of the greatest architects in the world have been women. Branching out may be a personal choice,” says Nita.

JP Morgan Fund to invest 200 crore in Nitesh JV

Private equity players are returning to the Indian real estate market with gusto.A proprietary investment arm of JP Morgan will take 50% stake in a Rs 1,500 crore joint venture with Nitesh Estates for developing residential projects in Bangalore.

The JP Morgan Fund will invest $40 million,or Rs 200 crore,as equity into the special purpose vehicle (SPV) developing five projects,said banking sources familiar with the matter.The company can raise debt based on the equity infusion.

When contacted Nitesh Estates executive director L S Vaidyanathan,he declined to comment on the development.

The JV between JP Morgan and Bangalore-based Nitesh Estates will be developing over 5 million sft of living space with the projects valued around Rs 1,500-2,000 crore.This will be the fourth private equity investor in Nitesh Estates.

The firm has cut deals with New-York based Och-Ziff Capital Management Group,Apollo Management and HDFC in the past.Och-Ziff,a global hedge fund which bought 25% stake in the company for $51 million in 2007,has part-exited the company and currently holds 8% in the Bangalore realty firm.

Apollo holds 74% in a JV that is developing India's first Ritz Carlton hotel,which is scheduled to open in mid-2012.The luxury property coming up on Residency Road with a developable area of 0.50 mn sft will have 281 keys.The firm has recently signed a joint development agreement to develop a Rs 300 crore residential project on the Sarjapur-Outer Ring Road stretch in Bangalore.The 4-acre project with 9-lakh sft of development is aimed at mid and upper income segments.

The realty player with a significant exposure in the residential space is shoring up its retail presence.

The firm is developing Nitesh Mall in Indiranagar with a developable area of 1.11 mn sft.The mall designed by Seattle-based architecture firm Callison will open in 2014.

Namma Metro puts realty on the right track

Touted as one of the largest infrastructural projects to be undertaken in Bangalore, Namma Metro has finally had a small part of its first phase inaugurated on October 20.

This stretch covers all of 6.5 kms between Byappanahalli and MG Road.

For those who have been waiting eagerly, this start is a sign of hope for things to come in relation to the other phases. Of course, when evaluated from the infrastructure point of view, the Metro is bound to ease the pressure on traffic on roads for starters. Besides this, its inauguration in the CBD area does a lot for the real estate here as well.

Fillip to East Bangalore

Now that the Metro is partially functional, it is quite obvious that East Bangalore is getting well connected to the CBD area. Does this necessarily translate into a real estate boom for the areas that fall on either side of the track from Byappanahalli to MG Road?

Not too much, opines Karun Varma, Managing Director — Bangalore & Kochi, Jones Lang LaSalle India. He says, "Since only a 6 km stretch is operational as on date, the potential impact on real estate due to the 'proximity' (reduced travel time) factor may not be significant at this point of time.

The 'real' impact of the Metro will be visible once the entire first phase is operational. As of now, it is only a 'feel-good' factor for the property owners and occupiers along this stretch. This sentiment-based factor may result in a marginal incremental increase over the short-term, approximately to a tune of 5-10% per annum.

Based on case studies on the impact of the Delhi Metro on real estate, one can expect 20-30% appreciation within a year or two of full-fledged operation of Phase 1."

R.Y.N. Rao, Head - Sattva Real Estate Solutions, believes that prices in the Byappanahalli and CMH road areas went up by around 15% to 20% at the commencement of the project.

There will be a correction in prices here but only when the project is complete. But the MG Road stretch is completely saturated at present and the chances of prices going up here are not too bright".

Irshad Ahmed, President, Bangalore Realtors Association-India, adds to these opinions saying that land prices in the Byappanahalli and CMH road areas will correct as much as 40% to 50%, but Indiranagar and MG Road will continue to remain the same.

The pros and cons of going commercial

With the chances of Metro areas being declared commercial, Karun Varma elaborates extensively for a better understanding.

He says, "As per the Revised Master Plan – 2015 of the Bangalore Development Authority, the greater part of the Metro line is passing through the zones under the Commercial Axes or Mutation Corridor.”

Commercial developments are permitted along the Commercial Axes, while mixed-use developments are permitted along the Mutation Corridor. In other words, the existing Master Plan has envisioned and provided a regulatory framework suitable for commercial development along the Metro line.

However, the Government of Karnataka, through its GO No. UDD 93 MNJ 2008 dated 2/3/2009, provides for maximum permissible Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 4.00 for all permissible uses, irrespective of the FAR applicable for the respective uses for the land prices within a 150 meter radius from the outer boundary of the metro terminals.

This means that all properties located within this radius will be entitled for additional FAR of 1.00-1.25 because of the Metro terminals. This should cause a significant appreciation of the value of land which falls within this 150 meter radius.
 

Rent, sell or sit tight?

There is an opportunity here for those who own property in the area. However, there are doubts on whether to sell, rent, or just hold onto it for a while.

R.Y.N. Rao says, "Those who own existing residential properties along the Metro route and especially around Metro stations should encash on it by selling it, putting up commercial establishments or renting it for commercial or retail use. In any developing area, all residences are bound to become commercial in due course of time and existing residential properties must conform to the change or else they will be losers."

However, Karun advices that for those with residences located away from the main Metro corridors to the extent of 500 meters or more, it is advisable to stay where they are as they can benefit from the Metro in terms of connectivity as well as the increased real estate development.

He adds, "If residents are located along the corridor, it makes business sense to develop or sell their property for commercial developments."

A line of thought that most experts agree on is that the real impact of the Metro will only be seen once the entire Phase 1 is operational.

Therefore, the collective opinion is that any development or selling should take place 6-9 months before the full operation of Phase 1 for maximum benefits.

Metro does not mean BIG BUSINESS

EATERIES ON MGS AND BRIGADES NOTE A RISE IN SALES BUT RETAILERS HAVE TO MAKE DO WITH WINDOW SHOPPERS

Its almost a month since Namma Metro became a part of Bangalore,creating excitement among people and expectation among traders along its route.Citizens hopped on and flocked to MG Road and Brigade Road,which are abuzz with footfalls.But that does not seem to have translated into any substantial increase in business for retailers,barring food and beverage outlets.

Burgers and cappuccinos are selling fast,and there is a visible rise in customer traffic as people flock to chill out after the Metro ride.Interestingly,comics are also flying off bookstore shelves.

We are doing good business with a 15% growth in sales after the launch of the Metro.A large percentage of this growth is spurred by families coming to check out the new attraction, says Sampath,manager at Caf Coffee Day.

Karuna,shift manager at KFC,says the Metro has come as a boon for their till,with a substantial increase in customers during tea time.Store officials at Higginbothams,located just opposite the MG Road Station,say there has been an increase in the sale of comic books.

But not all can hear their cash registers ringing.Those who travel on the Metro are just going for a joyride.There has been no difference to our business because only the flow of people has increased,not genuine buyers.Well know the difference only when all phases of the Metro are completed, says Jithendra Turakhia,who owns an apparel store and is vicepresident of Bangalore Trade Association.

Levis store manager Syed Asim adds: We had expected a boom in business,but the Metro hasnt made any difference.Only the number of window shoppers has increased. Store officials at Puma have also spotted this trend,especially during weekends.

But with the crowds have come some woes.According to Zafar A Shawl,who owns an antique crafts store,Commuters are littering the place. Theres also been a rise in incidents of shoplifting.We are more watchful now. 

ME TOO: Despite the long queues for rides on the Metro,there is little business happening in the Central Business District that waited impatiently for the project 

Ozonegroup launches largest integrated township in Bangalore

One of the leading property developers, Ozonegroup, on Wednesday, announced the launch of the largest integrated township in Bangalore - Ozone Urbana.

Spread across an area of 150 acres and situated on NH7 near BIAL airport, Ozone Urbana is a self contained township with homes and commercial developments. 

Briefing reporters, Ozonegroup COO Sudarshan K S said, “Ozone Urbana is strategically located on the fastest developing corridor of Bangalore and planned to suit the individual spatial requirements across the entire spectrum of residential and commercial segments.” 

With a well-planned social infrastructure within the township which includes a school, hospital, clubhouse, gardens, 3 km of bicycle track, shopping arcade, mall and multiplex, and judiciously planned commercial office space for IT/ITeS and other services sectors, the township provides a live-work-play lifestyle.

Ozone Urbana offers 3 distinct residential offerings like Urbana Meadows, serviced plots for those who would like to design and build their own homes. Each plot comes with pre-planned conduits laid out for water, electricity, communication, sewage and centralised rainwater harvesting. Spread across about 24 acres, the phase 1 of Urbana Meadows has 388 plots, of which nearly 100 are already pre-sold. The plots are priced at Rs 2,525 per sqft.

Urbana Aqua is for the customers looking for their first home with limited budget, with 280 (2 & 3BHK) apartments with all amenities and standard luxury, spread over nearly 

4 acres in phase 1. The apartment prices start at Rs 27 lakh.

In Urbana Greens, a villa has a introductory price of Rs 99 lakh, which the company claims is the lowest in Bangalore. Each Urbana Greens villa comes with a exclusive swimming pool, home office and many other lifestyle features. Spread across 26 acres, the first phase of Urbana Greens offers nearly 200 villas in sizes from 2,000 sqft to 6,400 sqft. Construction of the project starts in January 2012 and handover will begin in August 2013. 

The project would be self-sufficient with its own water management system, which would reduce dependence on municipal supply for drinking water. Ozone Group CMD Vasudevan S said, “Ozone Urbana provides the green lung space to the lifestyle aspiring customer. We aim to provide the best infrastructure and amenities in all our projects.”

Temasek Arm Acquires Blore Tech Park for.800 crore

Mapletree India China,a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings of Singapore,has acquired 100% stake in a Bangalore technology park for Rs 800 crore.This is the largest private equity deal in the citys real estate sector in three years.The international fund,which invests in real estate firms,has completely bought out the promoters of Assetz Global Technology Park,at least three people with direct knowledge of the deal told ET.The project is a joint venture between development and marketing firm Assetz Property Group and Delhi-based investor Mithilesh Tripathy.The promoters did not have funds to execute the project.The deal was closed at Rs 4,000 per sft,which,though big,is lower than expectations, said an investment banker who did not want to be named.Multiple banking sources familiar with the development said the company was in talks with funds such as Mapletree and GIC to liquidate the plot since last year and Mapletree emerged as the front-runner to buy the asset.Assetz Global Technology Park confirmed the development but refused to name the fund house.The due diligence is going on and the deal is yet to be signed, said a senior executive at AGTP.Tripathy could not be reached for comment.Global Tech Park,on Bangalores Outer Ring Road,has a developable area of 15 acre,or 2.5 million sq ft.As of October,5 lakh sq ft of developable area within the business park was operational,leased to LSI Logic,an infotech firm.The park was tailored to meet the needs of IT occupiers in Bangalore and was expected to be fully operational in 2011,but was put on hold, said another person with direct knowledge of the deal.So far,the company has developed 3 million sq ft of commercial space,and has around 30 million sq ft under construction that is slated for completion in 3-5 years.While builders in other big cities are finding it difficult to raise funds for projects,Bangalore has been attracting large private equity deals.The largest real estate private equity deal closed in 2011 was when Blackstone picked up 37% stake in Manyata Tech Park,the country's largest operational tech SEZ for over Rs 1,000 crore ($200 million).The property is a JV with south-based Embassy Property Development and landowner,Veeranna Reddy.During the July-September quarter this year,PE deals worth $324 million were reported in the real estate,housing and construction sector,an increase of 30% in aggregate PE deal value compared with the April-June quarter,and a decrease of 34% when compared to the same period last year,says a report by Ernst & Young.Bangalore continued to see healthy transaction activity in the same quarter,especially in the large office format space.The city recorded total absorption of 7 million sq ft till Q3 of CY 2011,an increase of 20% over the last year,with corporates looking for consolidation and expansion plans,mentioned a report by CB Richard Ellis,a market research firm.There is huge demand for commercial real estate in Bangalore,but challenge is unavailability of ready-to-occupy space.Many clients are pre-committing in ongoing space,with absorption expected to cross 10 million sft by the end of 2011, said Ram Chandani,deputy managing director,South India at CBRE.The third quarter saw stronger leasing activity with HULs lease of 400,416 sq ft in Prestige Shantiniketan,Airbus taking 1,20,000 sq ft in Xylem,Broadcom leased 2,60,000 sq ft in RMZ Ecospace and NetApp picked up 1,12,029 sq ft in Embassy Golf Links.Assetz is a property development service company with a focus on complex,mixed use,investment grade projects.Assetz brings a structured approach to developing and delivering real estate projects from land identification and inception design,construction,financing,marketing,final occupation and ongoing asset management.Mapletree India China Fund is a dual-country total return fund,which aims to harness the growth in India and China.It invests in commercial,residential and mixed developments in Tier 1 and 2.As on 31 December 2010,the Group owns and manages more than S$14.4 billion of office,logistics,industrial,residential and retail/lifestyle properties,comprising S$7.1 billion of owned real estate.

Singapore co to buy Blore tech park for 200 crore

The Bangalore real estate market seems to be catching the fancy of global PE funds and HNI investors alike.After a slew of such investments in the last few months comes a major FDI land deal in the citys IT hub of Outer Ring Road (ORR).
According to real estate sources,Mapletree Investments the real estate unit of Singapore's state investment firm Temasek Holdings -- is buying 12-acres of land in Global Technology Park (GTP) on ORR,and a 3.5 lakh sft commercial unit situated in GTP for about Rs 200 crore.Mapletree Investments is an Asia-focused real estate development,investment,and capital management company.
Global Technology Park,which is managed by Assetz,a property development service company,spans 15 acres and has a 3.5 lakh sft commercial development that has been leased to LSI Logic.A Delhibased industrialist,whose business interests include manufacturing of gutka,owns this land parcel.The owners are believed to have retained 3-acres of the total land bank on which they plan to build a luxury hotel.Sources with direct knowledge of the deal informed  that a formal announcement of the deal is likely to happen in the next 2-3 weeks.Assetz and Mapletree did not respond to queries .

As of September 30,2011,Mapletree owns and manages S$18.74 billion of office,logistics,industrial,residential and retail/lifestyle properties.It manages three Singaporelisted real estate investment trusts (REITs) and three private equity real estate funds,which together hold a diverse portfolio of assets in Singapore and throughout Asia.
ORR has being witnessing a lot of commercial-leasing activity with IT bigwigs such as Accenture taking office space in the area.Global real estate consultant Jones Lang La-Salle,in its July-September quarterly (Q3) report,spoke of Accenture leasing 1,30,347 sft in Pri Tech Park on ORR.Another tech park Prestige Exora Block B2,a STPI building,which became operational from the second quarter of this year,has JP Morgan Chase and Juniper Networks as key tenants.Ravi Ahuja of real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield said,Fund houses want to allocate some part of their portfolio to risk-free income yielding assets.Such rental assets provide 9% to 12% assured returns and further scope of capital value appreciation.

HOT INVESTMENTS

Temasek Holdings real estate arm Mapletree Investments is buying 12-acres in Global Technology Park and a 3.5 lakh sft commercial unit in it for about Rs 200 cr Accenture has also taken office space on the ORR Prestige Exora Block B2 has JP Morgan Chase and Juniper Networks as key tenants

Prestige-Khoday in JV for two CBD projects

Prestige Group,in a joint venture with Bangalore-based liquor conglomerate Khoday -- who also have businesses spanning sectors such as silks,power,and biotechnology -- is developing two marquee commercial office spaces in the central business district area of the city.The combined investments in the projects are said to be about Rs 400-500 crore.
The two projects,Prestige Khoday Platinum,located on Brunton Road,and Prestige Trade Tower,located on Palace Road near Sophia High School,are slated for completion within the next 2 to 3 years.Khoday owns the land parcels at both locations,which are each around 2.5 acres.Khoday,who have a large land bank within the CBD area of the city,have been unlocking value in the past couple of years by entering into JVs with developers.
In fact,Prestige is currently developing another project with Khoday,Prestige Khoday Tower,which is a 1,60,927 sft commercial office space thats adjacent to the Capitol Hotel on Raj Bhavan Road.Prestige Khoday Platinum will have a super built-up area of about 3,50,000 sft,with three levels of multilevel parking facility and 23 floors of office space.There will also be a helipad at the terrace level.
Prestige Khoday Platinum would be completely dedicated to commercial office space,Prestige Trade Tower will see a mix of high-end retail as well as food and beverage (F&B ) retail.Indications are that Prestige is planning on doing something similar to UB City's F&B offering: highend gourmet restaurants and bars.
The retail space will look to have premium to high-end brands,however,not the kind of ultra high-end brands seen at UB City.
Around 1,15,000 sft will be dedicated to retail at Prestige Trade Tower,with 3,68,750 sqft dedicated to office leasing space.The commercial-cumretail development will be one of the few to overlook a green space;the greens of Bangalore Golf Club.
Prestige has completed 157 projects spanning a total developed area of over 44.08 million sft across residential,commercial,retail,leisure and hospitality sectors.