Search results matching tags 'Bangalore' and 'economy'

Sobha Developers to raise Rs 1,400 cr by selling land parcels

233134 — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 11:16:00 GMT

Sobha Developers Ltd is working hard to raise about Rs 1,200-1,400 crore by selling part of its land parcels in a bid to reduce its outstanding debt.

The developer has a time line of around two years to raise funds and is looking at outright sale or by selling stake to private equity investors.

The cost of acquisition of the land that the company plans sell was around Rs 600-800 crore.

The plots identified are 100 acres in Pune, 38 acres in Bangalore and around 300 acres in Kochi and adjoining villages.

For its Bangalore land parcels, Sobha is in advanced talks with other regional developers.

With land asset sales and cash flow from existing projects, the developer will reduce its gross debt from about Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 1,300 crore by end of current fiscal and to Rs 600 crore by end of next fiscal.

Recently, Sobha sold a land parcel to private equity investor Purna Partners, for about Rs 200 crore, for developing new projects.

The developer has also raised $110 million by diluting 22.5% stake in the company through qualified institutional placement of shares to investors. It has already paid about Rs 370 crore from the funds raised to its debtors.

With the QIP, the developer has been successful in reducing its debt equity ratio from 1.7 to 0.85. It is looking to offer of more than 2 million square feet of new projects this fiscal.

With the QIP, the developer has been successful in reducing its debt equity ratio from 1.7 to 0.85. It is looking to offer more than 2 million square feet of new projects this fiscal. A source had earlier told DNA Sobha is looking to spin off businesses such as interiors and wooden furniture, building materials, mattresses and a design
studio.

Source:DNA, Friday, July 17, 2009

Rs. 629-crore farm plan for Bangalore Urban district

248075 — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 14:50:00 GMT

Even as land available for agriculture is rapidly shrinking with the unprecedented boom in real estate business, the Bangalore Urban Zilla Panchayat has drawn up a whopping Rs. 629 crore agricultural draft plan to seek funds from the Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (KRVY) of the Centre during the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12).

Interestingly, the average size of plan of all (29) districts is about Rs. 400 crore, while the Bangalore Urban district has prepared the Rs. 629-crore plan to develop agriculture and allied activities. This gains special significance in the light of the fact that Bangalore Urban District contributes a meagre 1.54 per cent to the State’s total food production.

The zilla panchayat has prepared the draft plan to achieve a growth rate of 4 per cent in the 11th Plan as against the less than 2 per cent growth rate now. The Centre has decided to allocate funds to various States under a Rs. 25,000-crore special farm package announced by the Prime Minister.

The district, which has a geographical area of 2,17,410 hectares, comprises five taluks of Anekal, Bangalore North, Bangalore North (A), Bangalore South and Bangalore East.

Officials in the Directorate of Agriculture told The Hindu that the Government had been preparing district-wise agricultural plans to achieve a growth rate of 4 per cent in the 11th Plan as against the current 1.6 per cent.
Emphasis

The plan places great emphasis on activities such as food processing, marketing and floriculture rather than hardcore agricultural activities. Interestingly, the largest share of allocation goes to agricultural marketing over the five-year period. Under the plan, the Union and State governments would share the plan allocation in the ratio of 90:10.

The plan has earmarked Rs. 18.77 crore for agriculture, Rs. 19.58 crore for horticulture, Rs. 10.05 crore for sericulture, Rs. 51.58 crore for animal husbandry, Rs. 8.60 crore for watershed, Rs. 12.85 crore for forestry, Rs. 9.52 crore for fisheries, Rs. 6.50 crore for HOPCOMS, Rs. 76.90 lakh for agri-industry, Rs. 8.50 crore for minor irrigation, Rs. 52.21 crore for rural development and Rs. 431 crore for agricultural marketing.

According to the Agricultural Census of 2005-06, there are 76,278 farmers in the district and the area under cultivation is 90,928 hectares of land. As many as 63,000 labourers are dependent on farm-related activities in the district, which receives on an average 867 mm of rainfall. As many as 36,000 hectares of land was cultivated against the target of 44,000 hectares, covering 80 per cent, in 2007 kharif season.

The Agricultural Department has roped in the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, for fine-tuning the plans prepared by various districts. A committee headed by the Chief Executive Officer of the zilla panchayat prepared plans in all districts based on their needs and requirements. The consolidated State plan and district plans would be submitted to the Planning Commission in a few days, the officials said.
Source:The Hindu Nov,24 ,2007

Bangalore is home to most crowded Rupee-millionaire club

233134 — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 14:37:00 GMT

NEW DELHI: Rupee-millionaire club in Bangalore is the most crowded in India. The IT capital of India has the largest number of households with income of Rs 10-lakh (per year) and above. With 3.3% of the total 31,17,843 households in the country earning Rs 10 lakh and above, Bangalore ranks No 1 in the list.

A recently released study—Indian Financial Scape, A District Profile 2005-06—by New Delhi-based research firm Indicus Analytics, exclusively available to ET, stacks the districts with maximum number of millionaire households.

The study profiles and ranks districts and not cities. So, the study desegregates a city such as Delhi into its nine districts and Mumbai city into the districts of Mumbai and Mumbai Suburban, and ranks each of these individual districts separately.

Bangalore is followed by Mumbai Suburban and Thane, each with 2.3% share of the 31-lakh odd of the households earning 10-lakh and above across India. Pune, Ahmedabad, Ernakulam, Ludhiana, Surat, Delhi South West and Thiruvananthapuram make up the top ten here.

If you take Delhi and Mumbai cities, the picture looks vastly varied across districts. Take the case of Delhi. While South West and East Delhi districts have a maximum concentration—1.23% and 0.89% respectively—of households with income of Rs 10-lakh and above, New Delhi, the hub of political households, has .09% households in that income group. Sure political power more than makes up for rupee power.

Curiously in Mumbai, while Suburban district shows a concentration of 2.3% rupee-millionaire households, Mumbai has a mere 0.85% households in that bracket.

However, there seems to be little co-relation between the number of rupee millionaires in the districts and the latter’s per capita savings habits. Over all, the propensity to save remains poor for all these districts. For instance, Bangalore ranks a poor No 35 in the country on per capita savings.

Similarly, Mumbai (Suburban) and Thane — number two and three in rupee millionaire list — rank 77th and 327th on that parameter, respectively.

Interestingly, Thiruvananthapuram with just 1.2% share of the country’s millionaire households, does well on per capita savings (Rs 96,209) showing fifth highest savings rate across the country.

Source: Economic Times, 2nd August, 2007

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Tax on New Services may rake in Tidy Sum For Government

233134 — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 13:57:00 GMT

The extension of service tax to cover rentals on commercial properties, as proposed in Budget 2007-08, is expected to rake in a tidy sum for the Government. In all, the Finance Ministry expects the new services to yield revenues of about Rs. 2,000 crores in fiscal 2007-08. The Center has budgeted service tax revenues of Rs. 50,200 crores during fiscal 2007-08, which is about 31.52 per cent increase over the revised estimates of Rs. 38,169 crores for 2006-07. The services that have been brought under the service tax net in Budget 2007-08 include services outsourced for mining of mineral, oil or gas; services provided in relation to renting of immovable property (other than residential properties and vacant land) for use in the course of business or commerce; services provided in relation to the execution of works contract; asset management services and design services.

Source www.jaaydaad.com