The influx of more than 700,000 people from Myanmar’s Rakhine State into Cox’s Bazar District in neighboring Bangladesh in August 2017 created a humanitarian crisis. Joining concerted international efforts, ADB quickly mobilized ADF grant funding of $100 million to help ensure this emergency situation did not escalate further.

  Sericulture farms in India’s northeastern state of Assam, are suddenly witnessing a rush of female workers.

The Second Investment Climate Improvement Program has included help for the government in constructing the policy, legal, and financial framework needed to encourage, negotiate, and close agreements for sound PPPs.

ADF-funded operations in the Kyrgyz Republic are improving the living standards, well-being, and prospects of women and girls by upgrading crucial infrastructure and educational and other services.

A glimpse into how scaling-up investment in Hasfarm Holdings is helping women in Central Highlands, Viet Nam improve their economic status and reach their full potential.

The unique challenges of financing and building a climate-resilient port in a tiny Pacific country required ADB to develop and deploy innovative approaches to ensure the project’s design, governance, and monitoring were efficient and effective.

Khadka and her family, like millions of others, were affected by the devastating earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015. ADB's Earthquake Emergency Assistance Project in Nepal financed the rebuilding of quality schools to withstand future disasters.

The real estate and property development industry, hurting from the slowdown in the country’s economic growth, is hoping for lower interest rates and grant of infrastructure industry status to enable developers to access cheaper finance. The industry is hoping that a stable government acting decisively would help not only to revive economic growth, but also look into specific problems faced by the industry. “The Indian economy and the real estate sector have gone through multiple years of stress,” Anuj Puri, chairman & country head of JLL India, said. “A change in sentiment is imminent now that a pro-business government with a clear mandate has been elected to power, so this […]

With the Narendra Modi government taking charge on Tuesday, real estate players hope the sector will get due priority, which will help bring the economy back to 8-9 percent growth. “The new government will pave way for realty reforms and take concrete steps to implement its promise given in the BJP manifesto to ensure housing for all in eight years,” Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (Credai) Lalit Kumar Jain said. The merger of Housing and Urban Development Department will ensure coordination and proper control, he said. “The new government will bring in a positive change to developers and buyers in the otherwise dark era that has been […]

New Delhi: Nearly 60 percent of Indians think that next one month would be a good time to buy real estate with improvement in consumer sentiments following formation of a stable government, according to a survey by global research firm Ipsos. “Almost six in ten (57 percent) Indians think the next 30 days will be a good time to buy real estate, such as a house, vacation property or investment property,” Ipsos said in a statement. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. “With the formation of a new stable government at the Centre, the consumer sentiment which was […]

Desi billionaires hold 44 per cent of their wealth in property, while the global average is 24 per cent. From Africa to America, the rich world-over have their wealth where their heart is — in their homes. Nearly a third of the wealth held by the super-rich (those with over $30 million of assets) in Europe is locked in real estate assets worth $2,391 billion, according to data from Savills, a global property consultant. The Asians are second, with $1,800 billion, or nearly 27 per cent of their wealth, in property. Over-investment The super-rich in India, as expected, beat the global averages by a big margin. Nearly 44 per cent […]

Heritage homes are fast becoming the favourite hunting grounds of luxury brands scouting for premium retailing space in India, where suitable high-end malls are too few and the sales potential at five-star hotels is still uncertain. When designer wear brand Kimaya Fashions searched for a store in Hyderabad, it settled on a 16,000-sq ft bungalow in the upscale Jubilee Hills, in a property with floor area nearly three times the size of its average outlets. French luxury brand Hermes also moved into a Victorian property in Mumbai’s Horniman Circle to retail its popular Birkin bags. “It’s not necessarily out of choice,” says Pradeep Hirani, managing director of Kimaya Fashions, “This […]

BANGALORE: Global private equity funds more than doubled their investment in India’s real estate sector in the quarter to March as they foresee an improvement in economy leading to stable long-term yields, according to a report by brokerage Cushman & Wakefield. PE funds invested Rs 2,800 crore in the country’s commercial and residential real estate during the period, a 145% jump over the year-ago quarter, the report said. “This is the highest quarterly private equity investment since Q2 of 2009 by private equity funds in the realty sector, driven by huge investment in commercial real estate and steady fund raising by developers in the residential asset class,” it said. Sanjay […]

While the the stock markets, the corporate world and a large section of the country’s citizens are celebrating the election verdict, 45-year-old Shailesh Singh, a Delhi-based executive, is a worried man. Singh has been hunting for an apartment in the National Capital Region (NCR) for the past six months but has not been able to zero in on one. Now he is afraid that in the euphoria generated by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) decisive victory, real estate prices may start rising again, making his purchase more expensive. Why prices won’t move up Singh’s worries might be premature. Realty experts are of the view that while there might be some […]

The real estate sector is pinning hopes on the new government for revival. Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) Chairman Lalit Kumar Jain expressed hope that the new government would bring in a positive change to real estate developers and buyers by introducing reforms given the challenges of slump in sales, high prices and liquidity crunch that the sector has been facing. ‘Housing for all’ “We expect the government to take concrete steps to implement its promise given in the BJP manifesto of ensuring ‘Housing for All’ in eight years,” he added. For an immediate plan of action, Jain suggested efficient and accountable governance in building approval […]

Nine years after it was formed, New York-based Brahma Management has lined up big investments for the Indian real estate market . Brahma, an FDI-funded investment and asset management company, has already invested around Rs 2,500 crore in the sector and has plans to put in another Rs 3,000 crore over the next two years. So far, its investments in the realty sector include Gurgaon-based projects Brahma City and Athena, and The Valley, a joint venture township project in Panchkula. While Athena is a retail and commercial office center, Brahma City is a gated township spread over 150 acres of land. Indian real estate market has been facing strong headwinds […]

NEW DELHI: Real estate developers have been buying more land from farmers over the past year than usual because of apprehension that the new law may raise cost of land acquisition significantly, even as they pin their hopes on the new government at the Centre to relax the proposed norms. The land acquisition bill that was passed last year but is yet to come into force proposes to double the compensation for acquisition of land in urban areas while land acquired in rural areas will entail four times compensation. The clause mandating consent of 80 per cent of land owners for a private project will delay the process of acquiring […]

NEW DELHI: Real estate developers and property consultants today welcomed the RBI decision to cut statutory liquidity ratio (SLR), saying this would enable banks to lend more to industry, including cash-starved realty sector. However, developers demanded easing of interest rates to boost housing sales. RBI today decided to keep the key policy rate unchanged but slashed statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) by 0.5 per cent to unlock about Rs 40,000 crore into the system. “The RBI’s move to cut SLR by 50 basis points to 22 per cent will give banks more headroom to lend and thereby spur lending in future. However, the much anticipated cut in rates would have been […]

NEW DELHI: Realty firm Ambience today said it will invest about Rs 1,950 crore over the next four years to develop two luxury housing projects in Gurgaon and Noida. The Delhi-based company will develop over 1,030 apartments in these two projects launched today. Ambience has presence in Delhi and Gurgaon property markets. It is developing a 150-acre project ‘Ambience Island’ in Gurgaon that comprises premium homes, ‘Leela Ambience’ hotel with over 400 keys and a huge shopping mall. In Delhi, it has a ‘Kempinski Ambience’ hotel comprising 480 keys and a shopping mall at Vasant Kunj. “We are coming up two new projects in Noida and Gurgaon. We are entering […]

In his first full-fledged review of the monetary policy, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan stuck to the continuing hawkish stance of inflation control first, which has seen the repo rate go up by another 25 basis points. The repo rate is the rate at which the central bank lends money (liquidity) to the financial system, and is the key policy rate. After the RBI action on October 29, it stands at 7.75 per cent. The most rate sensitive sector that always watches the central bank’s action closely is real estate. Equated monthly instalments (EMIs) are the biggest expense for a typical household, and with the floating interest […]

Welcoming the 0.25% rate cut by two of the biggest home loan financiers SBI and HDFC, realty sector participants today said the move will help revive interest in the gloomy market. “This is a positive move to boost property sales and spur industry growth. Home buyers who were earlier waiting for rates to come down will now certainly look at buying their dream homes,” industry body Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai) Chairman Lalit Kumar Jain said. “The home loan rate cuts from certain banks have occurred after nearly a year, and will augur well for investment sentiments in the market,” property consultant CBRE South Asia’s Chairman […]

The stage seems to be set for the real estate sector to take a turn for good times again. When everyone expected a rate hike in the Reserve Bank of India’s policy review on December 18, the central bank surprised all with a status quo on rates. Another bonanza soon followed: State Bank of India and HDFC, the top two home loan providers, slashed home loan interest rates between 30-50 basis points. Both these unexpected moves have rekindled hopes in the struggling real estate sector at a time when housing demand remained largely stagnant across major urban markets in India. The sector of late has been witnessing end-user perceptions of […]

Hopes of a minor fall in interest rates, especially on home loans, were dashed last week after the RBI hiked its key rates in its policy review. Home loan borrowers, especially those crushed by a heavy EMI, have been looking at the RBI for some solace for a while now. Generally, borrowers can do very little other than prepaying a part of the loan (if they have surplus cash) to reduce the interest burden or increasing the EMI (if they can afford it) to reduce the tenure and therefore, the overall interest paid. However, some experts believe home loan seekers and existing borrowers looking to switch lenders can consider experimenting […]

TNS Your bank may be disbursing home loans without due diligence of realty projects. So don’t be lax in checking out the builder’s credentials If you believe that the project in which you have booked your flat is free from all the issues just because your bank has cleared your loan application and approved the required amount — then it’s time to think again. While many buyers think that the lending bank usually carries out all the checks before approving loan for a project, the reality is very different. It has been seen that banks are not doing enough to gauge the authenticity of housing projects before disbursing loans. There […]

Some financial institutions are now offering special home loan rates for women. A look at this trend… Since late 2013, several home financiers like State Bank of India and LIC Housing Finance have promoted time-bound schemes to lure the woman borrower with discounted loan rates for home purchases. Some shaved off 5 basis points or 0.05% from their rates to woo India’s women borrowers. And now, Tata Capital Housing Finance (TCHF) has joined the ranks with its discount scheme, which offers them home loans of up to `40,00,000 at a discounted rate of 10.15 per cent vis-a-vis its present rate of 10.50 per cent for male borrowers. If you intend […]

NEW DELHI: Those planning to buy their first house should rush and complete the formalities by March 31 to avail of the additional tax benefit against the interest paid on a home loan. That’s because an exemption available to taxpayers will lapse in the current financial year which enables them to reduce the interest paid from the taxable income. The reduction can be up to Rs 1.5 lakh under section 24 of the Income Tax Act and up to Rs 1 lakh under section 80EE against the interest paid on home loan. The benefit under section 80EE can be availed only to buy the first house of a value of […]

Approved project 53313-001 in Indonesia.

Approved project 53174-001 in Thailand.

Approved project 53128-001 in Pakistan.

Approved project 50333-001 in Bangladesh.

Approved project 50278-002 in Mongolia.

Approved project 52306-001 in Afghanistan.

Approved project 54077-001 in China, People's Republic of.

Approved project 51423-002 in Mongolia.

Approved project 54061-001 in Sri Lanka.

Approved project 50222-002 in China, People's Republic of.

Approved project 54119-001 in China, People's Republic of.

Approved project 54199-001 in Pakistan.

Approved project 53270-001 in Viet Nam.

Approved project 54108-001 in Bangladesh.

Approved project 51034-002 in Uzbekistan.

Approved project 54221-001 in Vanuatu.

Approved project 54035-001 in India.

Approved project 53249-001 in Mongolia.

Approved project 52298-001 in India.

Approved project 43407-017 in Philippines.

Approved project 42466-018 in Bangladesh.

Approved project 50193-003 in India.

Approved project 54229-001 in Fiji.

Approved project 54238-001 in Tonga.