IndiaBulls – BT

Indiabulls secures 4-year 2b-rupee loan

INDIABULLS Properties Investment Trust (IPIT) has secured a two billion rupee (S$61.73 million) four-year term loan for its One Indiabulls Centre property in Mumbai.

The loan is from LIC Housing Finance.

IPIT is an Indian real estate investment trust (Reit) that made its trading debut on the Singapore Exchange in June last year. One Indiabulls Centre was one of two properties in IPIT’s portfolio unveiled at the time of its initial public offering.

The loan is obtained through Indiabulls Properties Pte Ltd (IPPL), which owns One Indiabulls Centre. IPPL is in turn owned by the Reit. Corporate guarantee for the loan is provided by Indiabulls Real Estate (IBRE), the sponsor of IPIT.

‘The board of directors believes that securing this loan in face of severe global turmoil and economic downturn is a testimony of the quality of IPIT’s assets as well as the financial and business strengths of the sponsor,’ said the trustee-manager Indiabulls Property Management Trustee (IPMT).

The trustee-manager also said in its announcement yesterday that regulatory changes being considered by the Maharashtra state government would increase the floor space index in the area where IPIT assets are located from a maximum of 1.33 for residential projects to a maximum of 5 for five-star residential hotels.

The trustee-manager said that because of the possible regulatory changes, it is evaluating a proposal to develop a branded, luxury five-star residential hotel to replace the residential component of One Indiabulls Centre. IPIT has had preliminary discussions with various hotel chains.

The other property in the Reit’s portfolio, Elphinstone Mills, has been branded as ‘Indiabulls Finance Center’, to position the towers as a financial services hub.

The trustee-manager also announced that Tarun Tyagi, who was previously the chief financial officer of IBRE, has been appointed chief executive officer of IPMT, replacing Pankaj Thukral, who will resume his earlier role as IPMT’s CFO.

Mr Tyagi, 35, holds masters degrees from Columbia University and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He had worked at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse previously.

Vinesh Kumar Jairath, who once was principal secretary, Maharashtra, has been appointed as an adviser to Mr Tyagi.