Dubai, March 24 (IANS) The United Arab Emirates’ real estate giant Emaar is still bullish about the Indian real estate market and will launch its initial public offering (IPO) when it thinks the time is right.
“India will be one of our largest operations and we have long-term plans there,” Emaar chairman Mohamed Ali Alabbar told the annual general meeting (AGM) of the company Sunday.
“The economy is doing well and we see a bullish story for the next 20 to 25 years,” Emirates Business 24-7 quoted Alabbar as saying.
The company’s Indian joint venture (JV) Emaar MGF withdrew its IPO in February this year due to weak investor appetite even after cutting its price twice and extending its IPO by three days.
The company fixed an initial price band of Rs.610-Rs.690. This was twice revised to Rs.530-Rs.630 and the closing date was extended to Feb 11 from Feb 6.
“We will go public at the right time. We are cash rich and we may even double our size,” Alabbar told the meeting.
He said the Indian and Morocco operations of the company have contributed between 150 million dirhams ($41 million) and 200 million dirhams ($54.5 million) to its profit and loss account in the last quarter of 2007.
Emaar MGF has committed $12 billion investment in India for residential and commercial projects and has drawn up plans for what it claims will be the country’s largest mall.
The JV is also planning to bring the haute couture Armani Hotel chain to India and has firmed up residential and commercial projects in cities spanning Mohali in the north to Kochi in the south.
The company has already bagged the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games village.