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.