Indian real estate firm targets GCC expansion

One of India's largest listed real estate developers has announced the launch of its first overseas office in the UAE.

Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd, which has delivered 3.3 million sq ft developed space valued at $1.75bn in the last four year, has set up in Dubai's Karama area.

The company said in a statement that the local representative office "will cater to the rising interest and demands of the UAE-based non-resident Indians (NRIs)" in its projects across India.

The company is also planning to open representative offices in other GCC countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain.

Indiabulls Real Estate has development projects spread across residential complexes, integrated townships, commercial office complexes, hotels, malls, and infrastructure development.

The company said it focuses on super metros with 90 percent of the projects in the National Capital Region of Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.

Santosh Tandel, regional head, MENA Region, Indiabulls, said: "NRIs make up for 25-30 percent of our overall business and especially Gulf NRIs have always been more inclined towards investing in realty market back home.

"With an approximate 45 percent of the UAE's population comprising of Indians, the need to have a local office catering to this segment was vital," he said.

Indiabulls Group recently entered into an agreement with Qatar's Doha Bank to offer mortgage loans to the bank's NRI customers for acquiring properties in India.

The Indian real estate market, which is expected to reach $90bn by 2015, is undergoing a shift.

The fall of the rupee is encouraging more investment by Gulf-based NRIs into the realty market which offers relatively higher returns.