Realty News Roundup: Odisha Govt approves investor-friendly SEZ; Oppenheimer buys shares worth Rs 31.37 crore in DLF

Realty News Roundup is PropGuide's selection of top stories from the real estate sector.

Top News

The Odisha government on Friday approved a new and more investor-friendly Special Economic Zone (SEZ) policy that allows developers to sub-let land to other industries. The decision was taken in cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The new policy also allows complete exemption on stamp duty, VAT and entry tax to the industries coming under the SEZ. The state's Chief Secretary G C Pati, in this report, said that the the sub-let land within the SEZ area should, however, be used within five years of being given to a specific company.

The 16th edition of Indian Property Show has kicked off in Dubai today. Properties by over 150 real estate developers from India will be presented here. The three-day event is designed to meet the needs of NRIs in the Middle East. Click here to know more.

On the investment front, US-based foreign fund house Oppenheimer has bought over 23.51 lakh shares in realty major DLF for about Rs 31.37 crore and increased its stake to 5.12 per cent. In a filing to the BSE DLF said that OppenheimerFunds, registered as an FII in India, bought 23,51,514 shares, representing 0.13 per cent stake, from open market on May 6. OppenhiemerFunds already had 4.99 per cent stake in DLF prior to this transaction

Off the front page

The Central government is reported to be considering setting up a sub-group of chief ministers under NITI Aayog to chalk out the action plan for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of providing housing for all by 2022. Officials have said that the aim is to take chief ministers on board as the houses have to be built in states with significant financial contribution from the state governments.

This report in The Economic Times says that the Maharashtra government is planning to relaunch its ambitious rental housing scheme in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, hoping to succeed with more liberal norms as previous efforts failed to draw much response from private developers. As per the current proposal, the developers will be allowed to build some units for sale while 25% of the built-up area will be reserved for rental housing.

Opinion

In this article appeared on Moneycontrol.com, Rajat Malhotra, property expert and COO (West Asia) of Integrated Facilities Management, bats for 'green real estate'. While arguing that environmentally sustainable real estate is extremely important for India today, Mr Malhotra asserts that the country has not lagged behind on this front at all. “The growth of green real estate in India is a sage of some compelling and impressive statistics,” he says. In the article, he also explains the rationale behind green buildings besides listing the common features in green office spaces. A good read, indeed.