Hardware tech park to open by Sept-end

The hardware technology park planned by the State government near the Bangalore International Airport in Devanahalli is expected to start operations between September 24 and September 30 this year.

According to Industry & Commerce Principal Secretary M N Vidyashankar, the park is expected to host around 300 Taiwanese companies coming to Bangalore to set up shop as well as explore joint ventures with their counterparts in Karnataka.

The hardware technology park, styled Taiwan Hardware Technology Park, will come on a 300-acre plot and boast of an integrated township, industrial units and residential space among other amenities.

Investments to the tune of Rs 600-750 crore are envisaged for the project, which will be devoted exclusively to setting up manufacturing units for semiconductor chips, light emitting diodes (LED), computer hardware and telecommunication equipment, Vidyashankar said.

The state government will sign an agreement with Taitronic (Taiwan Electronics Manufacturers Association) and TCA (Taipei Computer Associates), who will lead a 75-member team to inspect the proposed site for the park, Vidyashankar said.

The proposed tech park is the outcome of several visits by Taiwanese delegations who were keen to get a number of small and medium Taiwanese enterprises to operate out of Karnataka, Vidyashankar said.

The State Electronics Hardware Policy, which seeks to facilitate, promote and develop the electronics hardware manufacturing sector, hopes to make Karnataka the world’s preferred destination for investments in high value-added electronics manufacturing.

Towards this end, the policy offers a slew of incentives for investors, along with a Electronics Innovation Fund set up at an initial corpus of Rs 25 crore. The Innovation Fund will provide funding to entrepreneurs to develop new products to be manufactured in the State.

Sobha's Rs 100 crore property to be developed into office cum shopping mall

Sobha Developer's most valued land parcel in the heart of Bangalore has finally got a blue print.

The Bangalore-based developer's 2-acre marquee property, located on the Church Street- St Mark's Road junction, had got many heads turning including that of politicians, when it was put on the block three years ago. But now Sobha is developing the property and has started the process of getting in place approvals.

J C Sharma, vice chairman and MD of Sobha Developers, said, "We have planned for a 200,000-sqft (excluding car park) office cum mall." The split in the office to mall space will be 50:50. The work on the project will start once the approvals are in place."

He said the Nadathur family has picked up a significant stake in the property, which has been channelled into a special purpose vehicle. Sharma declined to divulge the Nadathurs' stake in the project.

Three years ago Anand Nadathur, son of Infosys Technologies co-founder N S Raghavan, had invested Rs 225 crore into Sobha Developers through his personal investment arm, Purna Partners.

At the time it was said that the money would be funnelled into multiple special purpose vehicles in which Nadathur could hold up to 51% stake.

Part of Nadathur's investment was made in Sobha's Trissur township project, Sobha City, from which he has exited now. "We have bought back our investors stake of 30% for a Rs 30 crore," said Sharma.

Results

Sobha Developers' revenue in the quarter ended June grew 56% to Rs 433.2 crore, from Rs 277.7 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

The company's net profit stood at Rs 45 crore, up 73% from Rs 26 crore in the year ago period.

During the quarter, the Bangalore-based developer sold 835,600 sqft compared to 665,659 sqft in the corresponding period of last year. New sales stood at Rs 479 crore, of which only 51% has been recognized in the quarter. Real estate companies book their revenue (from sales of projects) only when 25% of a project (excluding land value) is complete. The company has unrecognized revenues of Rs 1,230 crore as of date, "of which Rs 480 crore will get recognized in the subsequent quarters of the ongoing fiscal," said J C Sharma, vice chairman and MD, Sobha Developers.

"On the contractual side, we have completed and handed over 1.17 million sqft during the quarter. We have on hand 9.22 million sqft of contractual work which would take care of our requirements for the next three years," said Sharma. Of the 1.17 million sqft of contractual work completed, 70% of the work was done for Infosys across Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Mysore, and Mangalore.

The company had an average sales price realization of Rs 5,737 per sqft as compared to Rs 4,547 per sqft in the year-ago period, with an operating margin of 40%.

The company also monetized a 21-acre land parcel in Pune during the quarter for a sum of Rs 95 crore, which is reflected in its revenues.
As part of the succession plan, P N C Menon, the founder of Sobha Developers, has been appointed as chairman emeritus, and his son, Ravi Menon, is the new chairman of the company with effect from June 30, 2012.

Luxe homes come up around barren Arkavathy land

For nine years now, nothing has changed on the 2,750 acres of land in Bangalore North, acquired by the Bangalore Development Authority to form Arkavathy Layout.

Except that private builders have put up high-end villas, villaments and row houses all around Arkavathy, and land prices have shot up from Rs 50 lakh in 2003-04 to the going rate of Rs 4 crore an acre.

The potential of the massive barren tract of Arkavathy land is enormous, considering the demand for housing in a city bursting at its seams.

Why has the government not been able to interfere in the BDA's failure to allot sites and put an end to controversies dogging this stretch, ask members of Arkavathy Layout Allottees Association, who have been waiting for their sites since 2006.

Prominent builders in the city know their priorities: sensing the growing demand in the vicinity of Bangalore International Airport, they have cashed in on the opportunity and come up with huge luxury housing projects off Hebbal.

Builder Girish Puravankara's 'LGCL Beautiful World' is coming up at Byrathy in the vicinity of Arkavathy layout.

Sobha Developers have three prime projects in the area: Sobha City, a new township on Thanisandra main road on 36 acres of land, with a plan for 1,537 houses of luxury and super-luxury row houses.

Sobha Petunia, a luxury housing complex of 156 houses is coming up on Hebbal Ring Road on a plot area of 4.4 acres. Yet another project is Sobha Chrysanthemum, built on about nine acres of land.

Sobha has made the best use of Thanisandra main road connection to BIA. "The areas surrounding Arkavathy Layout are closer to Bangalore International Airport and thus, demand has increased in North Bangalore. With BMRC planning to extend to Bellary Road, distances are getting killed. Property value has shot up in these areas," said JC Sharma, managing director, Sobha Developers.

Brigade Altamont, a project of Brigade Group, is coming up adjacent to Arkavathy Layout.

Purvankara's 'LGCL Beautiful World' off Hennur Road, coming up on two acres, will have 29 upmarket villas.

'THE NEW LODE STAR'

Why we chose this particular piece of land is because of better infrastructure facilities provided on this corridor. It has green open spaces in the surroundings. I would call it the new Indiranagar of Bangalore.

Girish Puravankara | builder

'DEVELOPERS ARE BETTER'
Why can't the government learn from builders? Those who sold their land to builders have at least got some money, but those who have lost land for the BDA layout have got nothing so far. We have been jobless for more than seven years, we haven't got compensation and are not allowed to use our fertile land.

City's north emerging as knowledge hub

Bangalore north is emerging as India’s first and biggest knowledge city, attracting an aerospace park witnessing around $8-9 billion made by four major global aerospace players and, four defence and research institutions taking up in all 14,000 acres.

Besides, Karnataka has also proposed a Taiwan-modelled incubation centre — Industrial Technological Research Institute (ITRI) — on a 250-acre land at Mokshagundum, the place associated with the statesman-engineer M Visvesvaraya, who pioneered industrial development in the state. Four aerospace manufacturing companies including Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier have come forward to set shop at the aerospace park, close to Bangalore International Airport. It will be developed by the Sun Forest City Ventures Ltd, work beginning by December this year.

All the four leading aircraft manufacturers will commence work soon after, Airbus and Boeing launching work by around March-April.

“This will become the world’s biggest aerospace centre in about 10 years with an investment of around Rs 40,000-45,000 crore,”

State’s Industries and Commerce Department Principal Secretary M N Vidyashankar said in Mysore.

Also, country’s four leading R&D institutions, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) have sought 14,000 acres which the Karnataka government has offered at Challakere in Chitradurga district.

Bangalore-based IISc was the first to seek 2,500 acres for establishing its second campus, and this was followed by ISRO, with 4,000 acres for its rocket and space research, BARC, 2,000 acres, and DRDO, 3,000 acres, all adjacent to each other.

“These institutions will help shape the place into a knowledge centre that would make it the world’s biggest knowledge city in Bangalore north. “We want to develop it as a model city,” he said. Inspired by Taiwan’s achievement as a global hardware player, a state government team lead by advisor to the Prime Minister Roddam Narasimha had decided to replicate Taiwan’s ITRI in Bangalore.

“Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Scientific Research chief C N R Rao, Roddam and 4-5 others have come forward to set up the incubation centre. 250 acres have been identified for it at Mokshagundam,” Vidyashankar said at the Mysore Industries’ Association interactive session on Saturday.

Half the size of Bangalore city, the 400 sq km Taiwan sees 80 per cent of global computer manufacturers like Acer. It had 47,000 US patents, five patents adding up each day. SMEs contributed 94 per cent, he said, highlighting emerging opportunities for SMEs in Karnataka and in particular for Mysore, which is forefront in education and research.

“This is the innovation happening there and this is the eco-system we want to build up in Bangalore, the city which produces the highest number of PhDs in the world - 33,000,” the Principal Secretary said.

“Industry will flourish in Karnataka. Whatever may be the global scenario, it will be different in the state. The future of the industry will be the best here for all stakeholders,” Vidyashankar predicted.

Taiwan cos to scout around for tie-ups with firms in Karnataka

Come September, the city will witness a flood of Taiwan industry representatives. A six-day event is being organised here next month, when Taiwan-based companies will scout around for joint ventures with state-based companies.

“From September 24 to 30, representatives of about 500 Taiwanese industries will come to the city. This event is being coordinated by the Taipei World Trade Centre Liaison Office in Chennai and these companies will be signing MoUs (Memoranda of Understanding) and JVs (joint ventures) with companies based in Karnataka,” MN Vidyashankar, principal secretary, department of commerce and industries told DNA.

Though the event will take place next month-end, the companies at both ends are already in touch, Vidyashankar said.

“They are already in discussions with companies from the Consortium of Electronics Industries of Karnataka (CLIK) and about 50 companies from CLIK are already working out the finer points of the MoUs and joint ventures. Negotiations are also on with the Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA) and other industry bodies,” Vidyashankar said. Another main player in organising the event is the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (TEEMA).

According to Vidyashankar, this meeting is a perfect marriage of necessity, as the event will mostly be attended by IT companies.
“Taiwanese companies are good at hardware products, which we are admittedly behind, but we are good at software based solutions. Conversely they are bad in software solutions, so this would be a good match.

“During the event you will be looking at companies that deal in electronics and semiconductors and LEDs (Light emitting diodes) to name a few. The government will not be dictating the terms of the joint ventures that these companies will enter into. We are merely there to facilitate the partnerships, that are profitable for Karnataka-based companies,” Vidyashankar said.

The event is slated to take place at the Bangalore International Centre (BIC).

Second-home buyers zero in on Hebbal properties

Even in times of real-estate ebb,Hebbal is the new destination for those seeking high-end,premium addresses.

But why Hebbal Basically,you are targeting the second-home buyer who cant afford to buy on Palace Road or in Sadashivanagar or in any of the other central locations, says Cherag Ramakrishnan,CEO,Equinox Realty,who is developing a high-end residential unit,Waters Edge,near Manyata Embassy Business Park.Besides Equinox,Mantri Developers,G:Corp,and Karle have also launched projects in the same vicinity.Golden Gate Properties is also slated to launch a high-end residential project in the area.

There is a shortage of high-end space within the city limits,and here you have a destination thats 15 to 20 minutes away from the city centre,and has land available, adds Jitendra Virwani,CMD,Embassy Group.
Bespoke projects from RMZ,Embassy,and Godrej Properties,priced above Rs 2 crore,have been launched along the Bellary highway after the Hebbal flyover.Century,Brigade and Salarpuria have also planned high-end projects in this area.Last year,Sobha launched its mega township project of 1,500 units Sobha City located off Bellary Road.The average per sqft rates that developers are quoting is in the range of Rs 5,000 per sqft to Rs 8,000 per sqft.

The airport has definitely magnetized this part of town as it attracts a lot of senior management of companies.Hence,you see the pricing in the area is line with the customer profile, says Raj Menda,CMD,RMZ Corp.

Interestingly,the spike in residential activity in the region has brought back some amount of investor demand,though developers reiterate that Bangalores residential market is very much end-user driven.There has been a lot of interest from investors from Mumbai and Kolkata for high-end projects in Hebbal, says Sudeep Chandran,owner,Terrafirma Developers,adding that 15% to 20% of offtake seen in Hebbal is by investors.However,there are no signs of bulk buying by investors,which could potentially create a price bubble.

The senior management of IT companies is looking at north Bangalore as an investment opportunity.As of now,they are investors.Once the developments are ready,many of them would become end-users, explains Ram Chandnani,deputy MD of South India CBRE South Asia,a global real estate consultancy firm.

Says Farook Mahmood,CMD,Silverline Group,Bangalore is turning to be a very mature market,and our prices are still one of the lowest as compared to other metros.
According to another global consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield (C&W),The purchases in Hebbal are mostly led by long-term investors and the prices have appreciated consequently. Considering the first two quarters of 2012,C&W says,Hebbal has witnessed a price appreciation of around 8% in the high-end residential segment

 

 

Uber-premium properties to dot Hebbal now

Once the end point of Bangalore city in the north,Hebbal is set to redefine its stature over the next five years.Taking into account launched residential projects and projects that are to be announced in the coming months,with the Hebbal lake as the centre point,a whopping 2,000 residential units,mainly apartments,are set to come up in the area.And whats interesting is that all units are priced above Rs 1 crore,of which close to 1,000 units are priced above Rs 2.5 crore.

This development can be geographically split into two parts one part of the development is around the Manyata Embassy Business Park,and the other is along a 3-km radius on Bellary Road from the Hebbal lake.As J C Sharma,MD,Sobha Developers,puts it,This stretch will be the new M G Road of Bangalore. Hebbal is where the new Bangalore is going to be.Hence,the demand, says Jitendra Virwani,CMD,Embassy Group,adding that most of the infrastructure projects on Bellary road are running ahead of schedule.Besides primary infrastructure,the area has attracted a lot of social infrastructure like high-end hospitals and schools thats fuelling real estate development.

In the Hebbal micro-market,availability is low in the Rs 60- to Rs 90-lakh segment,and the new products being launched are in the higher price segment of above Rs 1 crore, says Karun Varma,MD (Bangalore & Kochi),Jones Lang LaSalle India,a real estate consultancy firm.
From clubhouses in the sky to designer homes by Jade Jagger,to apartments that tower 40 floors high,Hebbals skyline would represent a bespoke luxury lifestyle.

REALTY SHOW

In the pipeline: 2,000 residential units,mainly apartments,priced over Rs 1 crore Price range: Some 1,000 of these units priced well above Rs 2.5 crore Drying up: Availability of units in the Rs 60-90 lakh segment is very low

BULGE BRACKET

Some sport bespoke luxury lifestyle: clubhouses in the sky to designer homes.A few apartments are 40 floors high