DLF plans to raise funds, buy overseas

DLF, the largest real-estate developer in India by value, said its board will consider plans for raising funds, overseas acquisitions and an initial share sale of a property trust.

The board will consider on October 11 an initial public offering of unit DLF Offices Trust in Singapore, the New Delhi- based company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange today. The board will also consider investing in local and overseas projects.

DLF plans to raise as much as Rs 2000 crore ($506 million) selling shares to buyout firms, CNBC TV-18 television network reported, without saying where it got the information.

The plan to raise funds overseas comes after DLF, controlled by billionaire Kushal Pal Singh, won a contract with Dubai World to build a $15 township near Bangalore, India's technology hub.

Indian property developers may raise $4.7 billion selling shares this fiscal year to meet demand, Ernst & Young said. DLF raised $2.2 billion in June, the nation's biggest initial share sale.

DLF in July said it may sell shares in property trusts in India or Singapore and the Middle East. DLF Assets Pvt. will turn itself into a real-estate investment trust, or REIT, when the Indian government allows such vehicles, DLF Vice Chairman Rajiv Singh said July 5.

Asian property owners are planning to sell shares in as many as 15 REITS in a year as real estate offers twice the average return of stocks, according to estimates of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

REITs raise money from equity investors to buy properties from shopping malls to business parks. They are usually required by law to pay most of their profit as dividends. Investors prefer REITs because investing in these funds is less risky than putting money directly into a real-estate project.