Archive for September, 2008
Reserve Bank of India Intends To Keep Rates Unchanged
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will keep its short-term lending rate unchanged at 9.0 percent at the next policy review on October 24 and may cut it in 2009, Macquarie Securities expect the RBI to begin easing monetary policy from April 2009 predicting a cut in rates for banks by 200 basis points.
Macquarie had earlier forecast a quarter percentage point increase in the repo rate to 9.25 percent, but said it had revised its forecast due to the global financial problems.
The RBI raised the repo rate three times in June and July, increasing it by 125 basis points to a seven-year high of 9 percent. It has also tightened banks’ reserve requirements this year to moderate double-digit inflation.
Annual inflation, based on wholesale prices, has eased after reaching 12.63 percent in early August, the highest since annual numbers in the current data series were available in April 1995.
The latest reading shows inflation at 12.14 percent in early September.
Rajeev Malik, Macquarie economist, said,
“The key reason for our revision is the backdrop of the ongoing global financial stress that will likely prompt the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) to maintain the status quo on rates.
“Governer D. Subbarao will probably signal a shift to neutral at the October policy review.
“An earlier easing in the January-March quarter cannot be ruled out, owing partly to the timing of the next general election and/or better-than-expected inflation data.
“(Inflation) is expected to be in the high single-digit by end-March 2009. Consequently, the RBI will opportunistically prefer to keep the policy unchanged for now rather than tighten it further to bring about a faster decline in the inflation rate.”
Popularity: 29% [?]
Realty Sector Slows Down In First Half Of 2008
Slowdown in the Indian realty sector has spilled over to small towns, where housing demand fell by 25 per cent during February-July 2008 period because of higher cost of borrowing, according to a report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).
The research by the Assocham said realty transaction has gone down by nearly 25 per cent in most of tier II and tier III cities between February and July 2008. These small boom towns registered a growth of 22-23 percent in property purchases when compared with the same period last year. Assocham secretary general D.S. Rawat said,
“Approximately 15 million people in about 30-40 tier II and tier III cities were unable to make purchases as higher inflation and interest rate have dampened their enthusiasm and eroded their budget.
“Also higher borrowing cost has compelled most of real estate developers to defer their projects.”
Besides rising cost, non-availability of inputs such as bricks, cement and steel, and power shortage also cause inordinate delays in project completion. The chamber has urged the government to introduce real estate investment trusts (REITs) to bring the much needed class of institutional investors to strongly support the domestic real estate market.
According to the Assocham, REITs can also help develop commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS) market and create a source of cheaper loans for commercial real estate. Data for this study included feedback from affiliated real estate majors like Parsvnath, Omaxe, DLF, Unitech, and BPTP, which are developing projects in small towns throughout New Dehli.
Describing the current bearish trend of the real estate sector a ‘transitory slowdown’, consultancy firm Ernst & Young said that the outlook of the sector is still ‘positive’ in the medium-to-long term in a report released at a Ficci-organised summit.
Ernst & Young believes that the market is witnessing a transitory slowdown. However, considering the opportunities present as well as the strong economic fundamental drivers, the outlook for the mid-to-long term is positive,.
The momentum of the market in the mid-to-long term would be sustained by the emergence of new markets, innovative products, ongoing corporatisation of the sector, merging with global markets, greater transparency and new funding mechanisms. The real estate sector is set to grow by 100 times in the next ten years as compared with the past 10 years, though profit margin would be less, said Hiranandani Group of Companies Managing Director Niranjan Hiranandani.
“The age of super-profit is over for the real estate sector and developers will have to remain content with low profit margins. If you do not believe in this and keep on waiting, somebody else will take business away from you,” Hiranandani said.
Popularity: 25% [?]
Building Maintenance & Asset Management Expo Asia 2008 (BMAM EXPO ASIA 08)
Venue: Impact Exhibition and Convention Centre
Date: 25th -26th September 2008
This exhibition and conference is set to be the largest annual gathering and dedicated market place for international suppliers with over 300 international exhibitors, ranging from management service, product and technology providers covering maintenance management, predictive maintenance, Health & Safety and property management will showcase their latest technology, equipment, products and services to a targeted visitor audience.
Running alongside the exhibition will be a highly interactive series of workshops and seminars featuring tutorials, case studies, strategies trends, technology and methodology conducted by key industry experts.
Responding to emerging market demands, this event aims to serve as an annual 2-day international exhibition and conference platform that will bring together all key players in the business and market under one roof. Acting as an educational forum for building owners and key decision makers, to understand the benefits and importance of maintenance and asset management.
For further information visit www.impact.co.th or email: finec@impact.co.th or tel- +66 (0) 2833 5120.
An International Exhibition organised by the industry, for the industry.
myfirsthomeltd-ServiceAtYourFinger-Tips
for more news on exhibitions register free.www.india.myfirsthomeblog.com
Popularity: 39% [?]
