Dubai firm sets eyes on B'lore's realty

Emaar-MGF Land, a company set up by Emaar Properties-Dubai (promoted by Government of Dubai), is eyeing the Bangalore property market to spend part of its $4 billion (Rs 18,000 crore) real estate foreign direct investments (FDI) kitty in India.

The company, in addition to Bangalore, is also eyeing Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra through joint ventures. "Bangalore is on top of our radar for the city is promising with the highest return on capital," said Mohamed Ali Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties.

Emaar-MGF is also expected to roll out townships supported by experts from the fields like planning, construction, transportation, utility and the environment.

For its India foray, the Dubai firm has tied up with MGF Developments, India to form a joint venture company 'Emaar MGF Land Private Limited'.

According to Shravan Gupta, managing director of Emaar-MGF, "Each project is expected to have a cascading effect on local economy in the states where the projects have been planned. A single large township will generate demand for FMCG, household items, cement, steel and others approximately in the range of Rs 30,000-40,000 crore. Each large township will benefit the states with revenue earning of about Rs 1,000 crore mainly by way of stamp duty, VAT and service tax."

Inaugurating the India office recently, chairman of Emaar Properties, Mohamed Ali Alabbar, said, "The joint venture will target office and living spaces at a time when India is emerging as a favoured destination for investments and tourism."

"The joint venture is also in line with our expansion strategy of pursuing collaborations with partners and targetting opportunities in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Lebanon, Turkey, India as well as other international markets," he added.

"This is an epochal moment for the Indian real estate industry. The partnership is not merely about investment. It is about bringing in technology, expertise and scale," said Shravan Gupta.