Office space is drawing investment in India

Current government’s continuous efforts to improve trade relations has refined India’s position globally, and has attracted more FDI in the recent past. This liberal regulatory framework has resulted in increased investment into the commercial space and thus making the country a perfect investment destination.

According to the recent CBRE 2017 Asia Pacific Occupier Survey report published in HT, MNCs as well as Asia Pacific-based companies have aggressive expansion plans for India and China over the next three years. In the Asia Pacific region, more than 80% of Indian respondents plan to hire more people in the next three years. This reflects India’s growing economy, steady progress in enacting regulatory reforms and booming outsourcing and ITES sector.

The major sectors represented included banking and finance (32%), technology and telecommunications (14%), insurance (12%) and manufacturing (12%). “Multinationals’ relentless focus on driving down costs has fuelled Asia Pacific’s booming outsourcing sector,” says the survey.

The dominance of IT-ITES is expected to continue for some years. There is a growing positivity among the commercial real estate sector and now buyers are hoping for an all new phase of growth in the coming years. Because of timely execution pf projects by developers like Viridian Red’s WTC Noida, investors are ready to invest in trusted brands. WTC Noida delivered it’s Phase 1 on time and this largely changed the buyer’s opinion towards the market. Commercial assets are believed to provide steady cash flows and hence they attract large number of investments. 

Chandigarh soon to become a part of the commercial business boom

A business can grow manifold if the interests of all concerned parties are appropriately understood and adhered to, with thorough research, inputs, and opinions. When it comes to Chandigarh it would be quite apt to understand that the administration should give a relaxation on certain norms to safeguard the interest of traders when it comes to multiple ownership of site for amalgamation procedures. It will aid the optimum utilization of the concerned commercial site for best use for mutual business growth as not everyone can afford an expensive property single-handedly.

The Chandigarh Building Rules (Urban) 2017 are based on the Haryana pattern to simplify the building bylaws and save time in procuring building-plan approvals. Bylaws are complex in nature at present and they also vary from sector to sector. Regulatory estate office is working on the process to channelize faster approvals. Also, green-building norms are part of the new rule that has been specified by the Union ministry.

Earlier, where the building-branch took approximately 4 to 5 months in approving residential plans underwent overhauling the process and streamlined the steps to close the process in about a month. This helped to clear about 150 applications. The approval of commercial building was put on hold after the concerned estate office had made self-certification mandatory in the month of July this year. The administration had introduced into Chandigarh conversion of land for use of industrial sites into commercial activity/services in Industrial Area phases I and II. It is therefore important to note that amalgamation is not yet allowed in industrial sites, which were converted into commercial.

Taking the example from Viridian and its developing of World Trade Centre (WTC) at Noida can benefit the traders to come under one roof and create a brand new growth trend for multiple business growth stories. Viridian RED leads in timely execution of its properties and thus can be used as an example for many real estate solutions. 

WTC setting the platform for industrial growth

The industrial town of Noida was made functional for business in order for it to be a common business hub for large-scale business set-ups that are technology-driven and also follow the pollution norms. Renowned companies like Escorts and Yamaha were already running their business in this region since the 80’s. It was difficult to convince other leading companies to be a part of the futuristic growth. It was not just industries but also the people were not ready to become residents of Greater Noida.

It is no hidden fact that urban development comes at the cost of transformed farmlands and livelihoods in return for calculated compensation. Greater Noida itself in an example of this phase it went through to provide a better life for the citizens of India. It was not an easy task to acquire land in initial years. There was a fear of loss of wages and the fear of unemployment after losing the farmlands. There was employment fair organised to bring hope and positivity in the hearts of people. The connectivity was beyond roads and highways. It was of progress and organised development where each would be getting their fair share. Farmers felt connected after certain percentage of developed land was assured to be allotted to them.

There were large scale changes with the dawn of new millennium. Real-Estate was the new vision for development apart from the initial industrial focus. Group housing projects brought thousands to Noida and Greater Noida. This formed the base for confidence among corporate firms to set up offices along this region. Today WTC Noida and Viridian Red stand out from the rest in providing new growth opportunities and a reason for collective growth under one umbrella where focus is sustainable development and global outreach.

Noida and Greater Noida grabbing the eyeballs of investors

Noida and Greater Noida has been a preferred location for commercial real investments. The project developed by viridian RED has got some overwhelming response and leased out the first two phases of the project; it is developing the third and final phase and aims to complete it by the year 2020. Area wise, WTC Noida is WTCA's largest operating WTC, second to Beijing, China. It seems really promising n the Noida and greater noida market. With the decks being cleared for the construction of a second airport for the capital at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh, the residential segment in Greater Noida and along the Yamuna Expressway, in a slump over the last two to three years, will become vibrant once again, say industry experts and stakeholders. The infrastructure intervention of this scale would have a positive impact on economic activity, especially in the tourism, industrial, information technology enabled services (ITeS) and commercial sectors.

Are the ORCs successful in India?

Another emerging opportunity that has been quite successful is the growth in the development of Office Retail Complexes. The growth of ORC is a great example of the change in the mindset of developers. ORCs are planned to mix well with the office crowd and for retailers it’s a foreseeable business. Retail as an industry is an integral part of economy and retail developments act as epicenter for the community for their leisure & shopping needs. Owners of successful assets have managed to keep footfalls intact and are even growing in certain cases primarily due to their extensive efforts in getting the right mix of tenants for their assets basis their customer profile.The project developed by viridian RED has got some overwhelming response and leased out the first two phases of the project; it is developing the third and final phase and aims to complete it by the year 2020. Area wise, WTC Noida is WTCA's largest operating WTC, second to Beijing, China.

Retail as an asset category was under tremendous pressure and many developers did shy away and even shelved their plans to build malls primarily due to excessive vacancies in malls coupled with low rents. A good retail mix in an office complex provides a lot of ease to the office occupants and values to the assets.

Bridging the local connect

The overall outlook of the mega Greater Noida project was for it to be an integrated township with light to medium, and medium to heavy industries with an ample provision for residences to meet the demand-supply link of work force in such industries, as well as commercial organizations, plus healthcare infrastructure and educational facilities. Apart from the major corporate manpower requirement there are employment opportunities in police force, fire department and other public facilities along with necessary civic amenities such as water supply, electricity, telecommunication, environmental protection, highway safety, etc. Greater Noida 2021 is a vision to make the city a better, greener and safer place along with sustainable economic development.

The notified area of Greater Noida comprising of over 120 villages is broadly bounded by NH-24, Hindon river,  Grand Trunk Road and Northern Railways.  Noida and Ghaziabad are right next to Greater Noida’s eastern region.

In view of the above observations it must be added that with the establishment of WTC Noida in association with Viridian Red, the partnership will go a long way to shape the futuristic lifestyle and economic growth of the Greater Noida region. 

Is it time for investors, developers and owners to get in on the REIT action?

While on the one hand, REIT would help developers unlock value from their leased out assets and generate much needed capital, it would also provide a much needed entry and exit vehicle for the global institutional investors looking to invest in non-residential real estate assets in India. Indian REITs will help to split the bill on real estate investments. Developers divesting through REITs can get in and out of developments quickly. Investors can also make lower-ticket investments in property through REITs. Last year saw a considerable easing up of Indian REIT regulations. It’s time for investors, developers and owners to get in on the REIT action. Noida and Greater Noida has been a preferred location for commercial real investments. The project developed by viridian RED has got some overwhelming response and leased out the first two phases of the project; it is developing the third and final phase and aims to complete it by the year 2020.

Why investing in India can be a good decision

The real estate sector is one of the most globally recognised sectors. In India, real estate is the second largest employer after agriculture and is slated to grow at 30 per cent over the next decade. The real estate sector comprises four sub sectors - housing, retail, hospitality, and commercial. The growth of this sector is well complemented by the growth of the corporate environment and the demand for office space as well as urban and semi-urban accommodations. The construction industry ranks third among the 14 major sectors in terms of direct, indirect and induced effects in all sectors of the economy.

The commercial real estate market in Noida has shown an upsurge in last few quarters. Area wise, WTC Noida is WTCA's largest operating WTC, second to Beijing, China. The project is being developed by Viridian RED. These developments have encouraged many MNCs to shift their base to Noida. One such shift happened last year when Vivo Mobile, a mobile handset manufacturer shifted their operations to WTC Noida.

Noida: A Prominent Destination for Commercial Properties

Due to heavy impact of globalisation, people are more influenced towards modern living styles and themes as they feel that it more relaxing, entertaining and comforting. At one hand where people are asking for comfortable living, big companies are looking for cheaper floor rates with innovative design solutions. Seeing the current demand of the market, the Viridian RED project WTC Noida, promised to offer the best modern amenities in the project and something unique to the buyers.

The Noida World Trade Centre is expected to be a gateway for trade and commerce for rest of Uttar Pradesh as well as northern part of India.

Already known as the commercial hub of NCR, Greater Noida has been witnessing enormous appearance of real estate developers for past few years and thus, property appreciation.

Noida: The Next Commercial Hub

For the long run, regions on the edge of Noida and Greater Noida, are fast emerging as the key commercial realty hot spots in NCR. Noida has emerged as a hot spot for IT and MNCs setting up their businesses here. The city is becoming the preferred destinations for companies offering IT, ITeS, BPO, BTO and KPO services in various domains such as banking, financial services, insurance, pharma, auto, FMCG and manufacturing.

A very prominent shift took place last year when Vivo Mobile, a mobile handset manufacturer shifted their operations to WTC Noida. The World Trade Center, the Viridian RED project, Noida is the biggest WTC in the world yet, at 44 acres. The one second to it is located in Beijing, China at 43 acres. With recent shift and innovative changes in the commercial space, it would be really fascinating to witness the growth of realty sector and especially commercial development in Noida. 

Big Brands coming to Noida

1.    The market for telecommunications is huge and has repeatedly seen surplus growth right from the times of 2G and now progressing towards 5G. It is not a surprise that VIVO mobiles grabbed the opportunity and established it well in advance for the upcoming competitions. On having acquired 7 Lakh sq.ft. of operational area at WTC Noida VIVO mobiles is now seen as a threat to competitors in this huge customer base that comprises of areas like Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Yamuna Expressway, South-East Delhi, East Delhi and Delhi-NCR as a whole. Extensive branding and promotional campaigns will bring customers right next to WTC Noida and add to the huge database for VIVO mobiles.

Viridian Red has constructively developed WTC Noida facility for ease of business through time-management, people-management, logistical support and cost-effectiveness all under one roof. There is an international approach in how WTC functions and provides opportunities for businesses to experience on-job work experience through cross-company interaction, again all within one roof. WTC is one such destination where new start-ups can see themselves grow at a rapid pace after coming in contact with established business houses. It must be said that connecting with the right people and communicating the right vision can lead any business to grow beyond expectation.

Good connectivity is all about bringing people together

1.    When we talk of connectivity it should also mean connecting through communicating. The best way to communicated at an initial level is via mobile phones. Telecom operators are providing best of services under given spectrum to meet the rising customer demand for faster and smoother communication.

Possibly the reason VIVO mobiles is the first company to acquire the large operational area at WTC Noida. This step from VIVO mobile prompted WTC to offer the Noida facility as MOX to telecom operators and service providers, and also mobile phone companies. Imagine manufacturers and service providers coming under one-roof and working for a common goal, i.e. of better connectivity. A healthy competition will see them offer best of possible services for the benefit of their customers. This in return will lead to surplus revenue generation possibly because there will be more customer engagement activities and smoother resolving of disputes all under one roof.

This will be a chance for visionary start-ups to set its base at WTC Noida and flow with the current towards mutual growth under experienced guidance from established companies. There will be a large scale employment opportunity of people from Noida and Greater Noida, as well as Ghaziabad. The government of Uttar Pradesh is likely to benefit from this futuristic endeavour from WTC and Viridian Red due to employment generation and connecting with millions of subscribers for informative promotions towards awareness of developmental activities.

It is to be noted that good connectivity is all about bringing people together and keeping them aware of the constructive developments for the benefit of the people itself. Connecting with right message opens up the mind to receive more information on awareness and instructs the mind to motivate oneself for community growth. Therefore largely connecting people from Noida and Greater Noida to the world beyond their near reach.

Commercial deals rising in Noida

Constructive government policies, skilled IT resources and outstanding infrastructure facilities, making Noida one of the top destinations for commercial properties. The commercial market space in Noida is witnessing tremendous growth in terms of value as well as volume. The strong growth in commercial office market and expected buoyancy has spurred substantial demand for residential apartments in the city. With abundant housing options, combined with promising infrastructure, commercial office market is expected to further attract both end-users and investors in this region.

The Government has taken many steps to create an environment of growth for the sector by applying RERA and other guidelines for timely completion of the project and eliminating fraud from the sector. Meeting all the Government’s guidelines the Viridian Project WTC Noida delivered Phase 1 on time. The first phase of WTC Noida saw a 100% Occupancy from day one and the full occupancy of WTC Noida Phase 1 shows the rising demand for the quality commercial spaces.

In NCR, Greater Noida came up as an unparalleled choice for a strategic location for the iconic World Trade Center simply because it is the most promising city in the region today.

The Future of REIT’s in India and its impact the commercial real estate market

Currently, there is about 160 msf of Grade A office space that is scheduled to be ready between 2016 and 2019 in the top 8 cities i.e. Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad. These cities already account for about 415 msf of Grade A operational office spaces as of December 2015. This completed inventory gives REITs an opportunity to generate an estimated rental income of USD 5.4 billion, added to which the upcoming Grade A supply between 2016-2019 gives a potential incremental rental income of USD 2.5 billion by 2019.

The commercial real estate market in Noida has shown an upsurge in last few quarters. Moreover, the state government is going to develop a mobile & technology manufacturing hub around Noida and Greater Noida. Area wise, WTC Noida is WTCA's largest operating WTC, second to Beijing, China. The project is being developed by Viridian RED. These developments have encouraged many MNCs to shift their base to Noida. One such shift happened last year when Vivo Mobile, a mobile handset manufacturer shifted their operations to WTC Noida.

Noida Preferred Destinations For Commercial Projects

With enhanced infrastructure, world-class residential, commercial and educational facilities the city has not only engrossed maximum home-buyers but also big corporates, start-ups and PSU’s. With high end infrastructure and premium facilities, the city has become a rapid-developing real estate destination in comparison with other areas in Delhi/NCR. The office market in Noida is gaining traction due to availability of quality office space at lower rentals compared to Delhi and Gurgaon and presence of excellent infrastructure.

Recently, it has been observed that majorly big conglomerates are shifting their offices in Noida and suburb. One such shift happened last year when Vivo Mobile, a mobile handset manufacturer shifted their operations to WTC Noida. 

The Viridian Red project World Trade Center Noida saw 100% Occupancy for its first phase and after seeing the huge demand it is developing the third and final phase and aims to complete it by the year 2020.