07-Dec-2019

10-Oct-2019

06-Dec-2019

CREDAIBengalDailyNewsUpdate | 07.12.19

SBICAP Ventures achieves first closure of 'stress fund' at Rs 10,530

crore

The fund has attracted interest from investors such as government of India, State Bank of India,

LIC, HDFC and all major public sector banks.

SBICAP Ventures, an alternative asset manager, has achieved first closure of its Special Window for

Affordable and Mid-Income Housing Fund (SWAMIH) Investment Fund I at Rs 10,530 crore.

The fund has attracted interest from investors such as government of India, State Bank of India, LIC,

HDFC and all major public sector banks. The Government of India has committed a fund infusion of

up to Rs 10,000 crores in the Special Window and further investments will be brought in through

institutional and private investors to generate a total corpus of Rs 25,000 crore, SBICAP said in a

statement.

This category II Alternate Investment Fund (AIF) has been formed under the Special Window for

Affordable and Mid-Income Housing as announced by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on

September 14. The fund aims to last-mile financing to enable completion of construction of stalled

housing projects. This scheme was approved by the cabinet on November 2.

According to government’s estimated around 4.58 lakh stalled housing units in India. The fund aims to

provide senior capital for last mile funding to complete construction of housing projects. The

government of India is the Sponsor while SBICAP Ventures is the investment manager to this fund.

SBICAP Ventures estimates that this capital should be broadly sufficient to complete almost 1 lakh

stalled units and release locked up capital of Rs 65,000 crore invested in these projects.

“The Fund has made remarkable progress since its announcement on November 6. We have

substantially completed the fund raising, have scaled up the team, formed the investment committee

and have begun examining potential investment opportunities,” said Sanjiv Chadha, MD & CEO, SBI

Capital Markets and Chairman, SBICAP Ventures.

For SBICAP Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SBI Capital Markets, this fund is a major step in

its track record of investments that seek to invest for improving the quality of life, effectively

addressing stress in the housing sector, while still generating commercial return for its investors.

It is expected that capital provided by the fund will help struggling home buyers get a home, free

Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 07, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/sbicap-ventures-

achieves-first-closure-of-stress-fund-at-rs-10530-crore/72409783

locked up capital in these projects, provide employment and increase the demand for construction

sector commodities, thus providing a boost to economic growth.

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Impossible to avail zero-period waiver benefits: Amit Modi, President,

Credai Western UP

According to the order, only builders who had over 30% of land “encroached” will get a full

interest waiver for the ‘zero period’, the term used to describe the phase for which the waivers

are being given.

Real estate developers won’t automatically be eligible for 100% interest waiver for those periods when

work on housing projects could not be undertaken due to factors beyond their control, like litigation,

because the UP government has opted for a graded approach.

So, while those projects in Noida Extension where work stopped because of the challenge to land

acquisition or those in Noida affected by the Okhla Bird Sanctuary eco-sensitive will all be eligible for

the waivers, how much that will be will depend on the extent of the land that the developers could not

use.

According to the order, only builders who had over 30% of land “encroached” will get a full interest

waiver for the ‘zero period’, the term used to describe the phase for which the waivers are being given.

If the quantum of land encroached was 20%, the interest waiver would come down to 50%, while

those who had just about 10% land encroached would be eligible for a 25% waiver. The developers

would, of course, have to meet all completion deadlines set by UP-Rera and procure completion

certificates for all due flats by the end of 2021 to be eligible for this waiver scheme.

Rera officials said projects that eligible for interest waiver had to be registered with the real estate

regulator, be in the affordable and middle-income group segment, be net-worth positive, and have

units priced up to Rs 1.5cr.

Realtors’ body Credai (Western UP), after initial enthusiasm on the announcement of zero-

period benefits, said it would be difficult for builders in Noida and Greater Noida to meet all these

conditions.

“First of all, the very fact that builders have been charged interests for non-payment during court-

imposed stays should have been considered and zero-periods be made applicable automatically. After

a long struggle to get ourselves heard, now that they have made an announcement, the conditions

imposed makes it impossible for us to avail of the zero-period benefits. First of all, no matter what part

of the project was encroached, the entire project has suffered because of it,” Amit Modi, president of

Credai (Western UP), said.

Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 07, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/impossible-to-avail-zero-period-waiver-benefits-amit-modi-president-credai-western-up/72409816

Ten builders from Noida and Greater Noida have, meanwhile, applied for the central government’s

stress-fund benefit. “They have applied through their lenders for last-mile completion stress funds. We

hope all those builders who are eligible for funds will apply for the same,” Modi added.

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Puravankara forays into luxury residential business

Real estate firm Puravankara has entered the uber luxury real estate segment under the Purva

WorldHome collection brand, targeted at a niche demographic of home buyers.

Real estate firm Puravankara has entered the uber luxury real estate segment under the Purva

WorldHome collection brand, targeted at a niche demographic of home buyers. The company plans to

add 3-4 properties in next 1-2 years in this segment across Chennai, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

”WorldHome will be a niche product and is expected to generate Rs 3000 crore revenue over the next

four years,” said Ashish R Puravankara, MD, Puravankara.

The first project under the new segment will be launched in Bengaluru- Purva Atmosphere priced

upwards of Rs 1 crore. ”The prices will be based on the geography and location,” said Abhishek

Kapoor, COO-Residential, Puravankara.

The company currently builds luxury homes under Purvavankara Luxury, while premium affordable

residences are under Provident Housing brand, launched in 2008. Currently, 65% of the company’s

business comes from mass housing brand, Provident, while rest from other Puravankara brands.

Separately, the firm is expanding its commercial portfolio. It plans to develop 10 mn sft of commercial

projects and venture into retail development over the next five years across major cities.

Puravankara has completed and delivered 40 mn sft of project while around 20 mn sft of projects are

under development across residential and commercial segments.

The company has a land asset of around 70 mn sft and net debt stood at Ra 2600 crore as on Q2FY20.

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Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 06, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/residential/puravankara-forays-into-luxury-residential-business/72400881

Maharashtra mulls merging agencies to push affordable housing

The government may consider merging several agencies including MHADA, SRA and some

sections of the Urban Development Department to expedite affordable housing projects in the

city.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday hinted that the state government may

merge agencies such as MHADA and SRA into a single entity to expedite low-cost housing projects in

the city.

Thackeray spoke about the proposal at a marathon review meeting with officials of the Brihanmumbai

Municipal Corporation and senior state government officials, a government spokesperson said.

Minister Jayant Patil was also present at the meeting.

The government may consider merging several agencies including the Maharashtra Housing and Area

Development Authority (MHADA), Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) and some sections of the

Urban Development Department to expedite affordable housing projects in the city, Thackeray said.

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Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 06, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/residential/maharashtra-mulls-merging-agencies-to-push-affordable-housing/72393005

Ghaziabad development body to begin work on Indirapuram housing

scheme in six months

The single-unit houses and group housing societies will be built on 130 acres of land near CISF

road, adjacent to Kanawani in Indirapuram.

After preparing the layout plan of the upcoming Indirapuram Extension housing scheme,

the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) has started the ground survey of the land and plans to

start work in the next six months, said officials.

The single-unit houses and group housing societies will be built on 130 acres of land near CISF road,

adjacent to Kanawani in Indirapuram.

GDA chief architect and town planner Asheesh Shivpuri said, “The layout has been handed over to the

engineering department to carry out the ground survey. Now, the encroachments will be identified and

removed.”

To ensure the project does not face any cash crunch, 10 pockets will be developed in a phased manner.

The funds generated from the sale of plots and houses in each phase would then be utilised for

developing the next pocket.

“We will not take up all the work at once as it is bound to create a fund crunch sooner or later. Instead,

we will utilise the investors’ money in generating more funds,” Shivpuri said. The authority will focus

on houses built on plotted land in the range of 200 sqm to 350 sqm.

Some group housing societies will also be allowed. Around 50% of the area will be earmarked for

housing, while 5% will be used for commercial purposes. Roads and related infrastructure, schools and

other amenities will be accommodated on the remaining chunk of land.

At present, GDA has nearly 62 acres of land in its possession, but in a scattered form. To consolidate

the land, it will buy another 70 acres from farmers directly or through land-pooling system. This

would be used for providing services like roads, parks and schools. However, the layout plan has been

developed for the entire 130 acres of land.

According to the officials, the project was conceptualised in 2005 on 229.5 acres of land in Mahiuddin

Pur village in Kanawani. However, the project did not make much progress due to litigation by

farmers over the compensation amount.

Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 06, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/residential/ghaziabad-development-body-to-begin-work-on-indirapuram-housing-scheme-in-six-months/72397834

Over 20,000 Jaypee buyers may not receive any penalty for delay in

construction

While bringing in very little cash, the two firms have offered land out of the land bank of Jaypee

Infratech to settle some of the dues of the lenders.

Lenders to Jaypee Infratech will have to take a haircut of over Rs 3,700 crore while 20,000

homebuyers will not get paid any penalty for delay in construction of their homes in the takeover

proposals brought by Mumbai-based Suraksha Realty and state-owned NBCC for the debt-laden firm.

As against the admitted claims of secured financial creditors of Rs 9,783 crore, Suraksha and NBCC

are offering repayment of only 62 per cent of their outstanding dues despite the liquidation value of the

company being around Rs 13,000 crore, sources privy to the development said.

The two suitors on December 3 submitted revised offers for the takeover of the debt-laden firm that

just a few years back built the country's first expressway wide enough to allow fighter jets to land in

emergency situations.

While bringing in very little cash, the two firms have offered land out of the land bank of Jaypee

Infratech to settle some of the dues of the lenders.

Sources said neither is offering any penalty to homebuyers whose houses has been delayed.

Homebuyers have received delay penalty of Rs 325 crore during the insolvency but the two bidders,

called resolution applicants under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, are not offering any, they

said, adding that possession of over 7,500 flats has also been given in the last two years.

Jaypee Infratech's revenue stood at over Rs 1,000 crore in the first half of this fiscal with

positive EBIDTA of Rs 43 crore, sources said. The net worth of the company stood at around Rs 3,500

crore.

NBCC is offering to infuse Rs 120 crore as equity in Jaypee Infratech and Surakasha only Rs 25 crore,

while the two bidders are estimated to gain by over Rs 10,000 crore from underlying assets of the

company including land bank, additional FSI, hospitals and expressway, sources said.

On December 3, NBCC and Suraksha Realty offered more land parcels to lenders in their final bids to

acquire bankrupt realtor Jaypee Infratech through the insolvency process.

Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 06, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/residential/over-20000-jaypee-buyers-may-not-get-paid-any-delay-penalty/72402723

This is the third round of bidding process for resolution of Jaypee Infratech, which is a subsidiary of

crisis-hit Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL).

Sources has earlier said NBCC in its final bid has offered 1,526 acres of land under the land-debt swap

deal. It has proposed to complete the pending flats in three-and-a-half years but is not offering any

penalty to homebuyers for delays in completion of apartments.

For lenders, the public sector firm has also proposed to increase concession agreement by 10 years on

Yamuna Expressway, which it has proposed to transfer to bankers. However, NBCC has proposed to

take Rs 2,500 crore debt against toll income of the expressway, which connects Noida and Agra, for

completion of pending flats.

On the other hand, Suraksha Realty is offering 2,220 acres of land under the land-debt swap deal. It

has increased upfront cash payment to lenders to Rs 175 crore from Rs 25 crore earlier.

For homebuyers, Suraksha Realty has set aside land worth Rs 250 crore for delay penalty but is not

infusing any fresh fund for this purpose.

Suraksha will retain Yamuna Expressway with itself, but has proposed a line of credit worth Rs 2,000

crore for completion of pending housing projects.

Jaypee Infratech went into insolvency process in August 2017 after the National Company Law

Tribunal (NCLT) admitted an application by an IDBI Bank-led consortium.

Anuj Jain was appointed as the interim resolution professional (IRP) to conduct the insolvency process

and also manage the affairs of the company.

In the first round of insolvency proceedings conducted last year, Rs 7,350-crore bid of Lakshdeep, part

of Suraksha Group, was rejected by lenders.

The Committee of Creditors (CoC) rejected the bids of Suraksha Realty and NBCC in the second

round held in May-June this year.

The matter reached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) and then the Supreme

Court.

On November 6, the Supreme Court directed completion of Jaypee Infratech's insolvency process

within 90 days and said the revised resolution plan will be invited only from NBCC and Suraksha

Realty.

As many as 13 banks and over 23,000 homebuyers have voting rights in the CoC. Homebuyers have

nearly 60 per cent votes.

For a bid to be approved, 66 per cent votes are required. Homebuyers' claim amounting to over Rs

13,000 crore has been admitted.

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Welspun Group acquires a majority stake in One Industrial Spaces

The first project under the new platform will be a 3 million square feet project in MMR.

Welspun Group Promoters, through a closely held family office investment has acquired majority

stake in warehousing platform - One Industrial Spaces, an integrated fund, development and asset

management organization focused on the warehousing sector in India.

“The warehousing sector presents an attractive investment proposition as it provides both development

returns as well as stable long-term rental yields. Indian consumers demand same day delivery both

online and offline, which has resulted in an increased strategic back-end storage requirement. We have

been looking to enter this space as warehousing demand is poised to grow aggressively. I am confident

that under the leadership of Anshul Singhal, Welspun One is well placed to scale this business,” B.K.

Goenka, Chairman, Welspun Group said.

One Industrial Spaces was founded in July 2019 by Anshul Singhal, Former Embassy Industrial Parks-

Warburg Pincus, CEO.

The first project under the new platform will be a 3 million square feet project in MMR. "Welspun

One will continue to build its core business of fund, development and asset man- agement, which

includes raising funds from domestic and foreign institutional investors to invest in the industrial asset

class in India in an organized, transparent and institutional manner," the company said.

Post the acquisition, One Industrial Spaces will be re-branded as 'Welspun One Logistics Parks'.

Welspun One will also be the exclusive development manager for a portfolio of ready land assets

owned by the promoters in their personal capacity with an estimated value of US$ 50 million and

development potential of over 5 million square feet of Grade-A industrial warehousing space.

“We are excited to have the backing of the Welspun Group promoters to grow the vision of the

company. Currently, a big challenge for existing players in this space is the land acquisition and

approvals. As Welspun One, we are uniquely positioned to address these challenges. We can now

leverage their deep understanding and experience in buying large land parcels and successfully

executing millions of square feet of industrial and infrastructure projects pan India. We believe this

will meaningfully improve the overall value proposition for our stake- holders. Our goal is to emerge

as India’s most preferred warehousing company,” Anshul Singhal Managing Director, Welspun One.

The $2.7 billion Welspun Group is one of India’s fastest growing global conglomerates with business

interests in Line Pipes, Home Textiles, Infrastructure, Oil & Gas, Advanced Textiles and Floorings

Solutions.

Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 06, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/welspun-group-acquires-a-majority-stake-in-one-industrial-spaces/72392925

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Nagpur: Over 45,000 hectares zudpi land may be out of FCA

It will solve the long-standing problem of Vidarbha farmers and house owners on zudpi lands.

In a victory of sorts for the Maharashtra government, the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has

recommended to the Supreme Court to allow the state to change nomenclature of zudpi jungle lands,

which have been put to non-forest use prior to December 12, 1992.

If the Supreme Court agrees to CEC, over 45,000 hectares of zudpi land having residences, farms and

public utilities like buildings, schools, hospitals, burial grounds, roads etc will be out of the purview

of Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980.

It will solve the long-standing problem of Vidarbha farmers and house owners on zudpi lands. It will

also be of special significance to zudpi lands under residential use, in Nagpur city and other urban

areas. It has taken six months of persistent efforts by the revenue administration to compile this

information for about 7,000 villages in six districts — Nagpur, Wardha, Gadchiroli, Bhandara, Gondia

and Chandrapur.

However, over 41,000 hectares zudpi land which has not been put to non-forest use prior to 1992,

when Centre told state that FCA will be applicable on such lands, will have to seek forest clearance

from MoEFCC and also make payment of net present value (NPV), apart from taking up

compensatory afforestation under FCA, 1980.

The CEC recommendation comes while hearing the state’s interlocutory application (IA) filed by

Nagpur divisional commissioner Dr Sanjeev Kumar in a writ petition.

The CEC has also recommended the state transfer lands notified under Section 4 of the FCA to the

forest department, latest by March 31, 2020, and complete forest settlement proceedings of all notified

zudpi lands by December 2021.

An official abstract of zudpi land shows that these lands are spread in 6 districts in Vidarbha. Of the

8,717 villages, 6,919 villages have zudpi jungle. Before 1980, when FCA came into force, over 1.65

lakh hectare was zudpi. Of this, 1.13 lakh hectare was pasture land.

From 1980-1996, another 1.69 lakh hectare was under zudpi, in which pasture land shrunk to 38,968

hectares. Presently, 1.70 lakh hectare is remaining, of which over 93,000 hectares have been notified

as reserve forest. The state wanted remaining 86,400 hectares out of FCA, which has not been fully

agreed upon by the CEC.

While CEC’s relief seems to be for 45,000 hectares, the remaining 41,000 hectares, which is unfit for

Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 06, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/nagpur-over-45000-hectares-zudpi-land-may-be-out-of-fca/72396901

forestry management, will be considered for approval under FCA only after ensuring that possession

of over 15,000 hectares of reserve forest land in Ahmednagar, and over 51,000 hectares in Solapur is

transferred to the forest department, as per apex court orders of 2006.

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