A majority of big real-estate developers in India on Friday said that they are insulated from the financial crisis in Dubai and the developments in the emirate will not have any impact on the country's property market, reports PTI.
DLF Ltd, Unitech Ltd, Parsvnath Developers Ltd and Emaar MGF Ltd have all said that they have no exposure in Dubai, while Omaxe has said that it has an investment of Rs40 crore for which it has asked for a refund.
But consultant Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj country head Anuj Puri cautioned that if the corporate debt default in Dubai turns into a sovereign default, there would be real economic issues, which may not only hit India but other international markets too.
"(The) Indian property market is very robust and largely dominated by internal demand. So there will be no adverse impact on us," DLF executive director Rajiv Talwar told PTI.
Emaar MGF, a joint venture between Dubai-based Emaar Properties and India's MGF, said its operations are only in India and the developments in Dubai would have no impact on its operations.
"Our business and funding plans are on track," a company statement said. Emaar MGF is in the process of coming up with an initial public offer.
"Emaar has not asked for any external support and maintains good financial strength. Emaar Properties remains committed to its investments and Emaar MGF's business in India," it added.
Faced with a funding crisis, the Dubai government on Wednesday had asked creditors of State-owned Dubai World and property group Nakheel for a six-month ‘standstill’ on interest payments on debts amounting to $80 billion.
Unitech vice president for corporate planning and strategy R Nagaraju said that Indian real-estate developers have little exposure in Dubai, so there will be no impact of the crisis.
Expressing similar views, Parsvnath Developers chairman, Pradeep Jain said, "I do not forsee any concern in the Indian real-estate market as it is entirely different from the Dubai property market. In India almost 100% demand is from (domestic) end-users but in Dubai only 10% is local demand."
Mumbai-based Hiranandani Group, which is developing a 90-storey housing project in Dubai through a joint venture with the ETA-ASCON group, said the financial crisis there will not have any impact on its operations.
Hiranandani Developers managing director Niranjan Hiranandani said, "Already we have sold 97% of the project and received 70% of the money. Almost 85% of the construction has been completed. The project will be completed by June next year." The company has no debt in Dubai, he said, adding, "We don't see any negative impact on ourselves".
Omaxe chairman Rohtas Goel said the company had made an upfront payment of Rs40 crore for two property projects in Dubai to Nakheel, but since it has been put on hold the company has asked for refund of the amount. "We hope to get a refund within one month's time," Mr Goel said.
The projects were envisaged to have a total cost of Rs1,500 crore with estimated revenues of about Rs2,850 crore, Mr Goel added. –Yogesh Sapkale[email protected]
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