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Niranjan Hiranandani, managing director of Hiranandani Group, on the sidelines of World Economic Forum (WEF) meetings in Davos, spoke about the measures to boost the real estate sector in India, adding that rate cut and incentives are needed.
Talking to ANI, he reflected on the need to reduce the interest rates, which could positively impact the sector, adding we need to incentivise more in the housing sector. "Interest of RBI needs to be reduced definitely because that is one aspect of it that I think we need to do. But the second part of it is that incentivising more in the housing sector is needed because otherwise the growth story for India will not happen," he said, highlighting the slump in the volume growth of the affordable housing sector. He stated that the perception of India is very positive and an enthusiasm can be seen towards India. Hiranandani noted a trend of businesses diversifying away from China (referred to as China plus one) has shifted, with interest in India rising independently of this strategy. "Perception of India is very positive. We have seen enthusiasm worldwide in order to look at investments in India. The entire story of China plus one has changed because the interest in India is irrespective of that," he said. He further added, "Huge investment is coming in the commercial sector, especially with the exit opportunities that are there because of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)." Reposing faith in the growth potential of the sector, he said the commercial sector will see huge investments. "As far as the residential is concerned, housing is concerned, I don't see much interest yet but I think that is growing and I think dependency on how the budget of India is really going to go, we will see much more interest in India," Hiranandani stated. Hiranandani also stated that an active investment sentiment is seen in the manufacturing sector. "Huge response is there for all the segments," he added. Highlighting the availability of investments in the sector, Hiranandani said, " You will see a new paradign happen in that sector and money is just available. Surprisingly, the good old days when we were all worried about a project today, that story is gone. If you have a good project, a good ROI that you are looking at, money is plenty." "That's the change that I see in Davos here today and I think that's a positive sign for India," he added. Talking about the REIT investments by foreign companies, Hiranandani said that companies such as Brookfield, Blackstone and many others are actively investing in the sector. He also spoke on the impact of US President Donald Trump on India, adding that Trump is focused on American growth and we will have to tie up with him and see where the win-win situation comes for India. "India is well-balanced; I think Prime Minister Modi is taking a balance where just like Trump is talking about America, we are talking about India. So I think there is nothing wrong with that except some of the statements made by Trump," he added. (ANI)
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