Vietnam Enticing More Foreign Investors
WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Bernama) — Ocean Villas Group, specialists in lifestyle and investment property worldwide, has said that Vietnam is enticing more and more international investors lately, reports Vietnam News Agency (VNA) Thursday.

Read more on Bernama

Investors Urge Caution on Satyam Merger
Small investors want the merger of Satyam Computer Services with parent company to be delayed

Read more on PC World

ETFs: Exotic, far-flung offerings attract US investors
ETFs focused on precious metals, Indonesian stocks, and lithium mining have investors piling into them.

Read more on The Christian Science Monitor

Investing in India has been a prime factor for the rise of the Indian economy in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) and vice-versa. Investment advisors who have been guiding investors on the prospects of favourable investments in India are quite optimistic. In such a trend quite evident lately, the private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investments into India have been somewhat remarkable. This trend is further strengthening the confidence of all investors alike.

According to a recent report by released by global consultancy Bain & Company, titled ‘India PE Report 2010′, there is renewed confidence among the leading global PE investors about the Indian market. Private equity and venture capital investments are projected to reach US$ 17 billion (around Rs 80,000 crore) this year owing to some strong impetus received from strong economic growth in the country. As per a study by Venture Intelligence, private equity firms have invested about US$ 2,364 million across 67 deals during the quarter ended June 2010.

Funds focused on Indian equity are becoming favourites with these global investors. Investment firm, Evolvence Capital, which is based out Dubai, announced its plan on July 21, 2010, to launch its third India-focussed fund – The Evolvence India Fund II – targeting to attract a corpus of US$ 400 million from institutional and high net worth clients globally. UAE national Khaled al-Muhairy, the Dubai-based alternative investments company, was also one of the first Gulf investment funds to embark on India as an investment destination during the pre-crisis period as the Gulf looked forward to surplus petro funds for investing in India.

Further, PE players have invested more than US$ 300 million in companies related to food processing, agri-based sectors during January-June 2010, as per a Grant Thorton report. In calendar year 2009, PE investments in these sectors were about US$ 398 million as against US$ 187 million in 2008 and US$ 4.3 million in 2007, respectively.

All these indicators signal the vociferous favour that India seems to have found from the PE investors. Private equity investments in India in May 2010 alone grew by almost 200 per cent as compared to the corresponding period last year. During the month of May, financial services, materials and healthcare segment were the most favoured sectors for PE funding. Major PE investments during May were in companies like Avinja Properties, National Stock Exchange, Fortis Healthcare and Pegasus Assets Reconstruction by PE firms such as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR), Temasek Holdings’ and DE Shaw etc.

How Institutional Investors Should Step Up As Owners
Overhauling investment practices that reward short-term returns could benefit shareholders and the global economy.

Read more on Forbes

Investors eye Satyam’s first post-crisis earnings
Indian outsourcing firm Satyam Computers was set on Wednesday to report its first earnings results in nearly two years after a massive false accounting scandal rocked the firm, threatening its future.

Read more on AFP via Yahoo! UK & Ireland Finance

India being a peninsular country has a far-stretching coastline. It is surrounded by water on the east, west, and south coasts. As a result there is abundant fishing in India. The fisheries industry in India is huge. With its vast coastline, India is the fourth-largest producer of fish in the world. This is mainly because nearly 10 million people residing in more than 4,000 coastal regions are engaged in fishery activity. These people are mainly dependent on fisheries to earn a living.

India holds great potential for both inland and marine fishing. It has huge reservoirs for fishing. The fisheries industry heavily contributes to the Gross Domestic Product of India. The fisheries industry is responsible for filling the Indian exchequer with about $70 million per annum. Massive production and export has made the fisheries sector an essential part of the Indian economy.

Though the fishing industry in India contributes heavily to the GDP and is a valuable source of earning foreign currency for the country, it still has a huge potential for export. Out of the total area available for fisheries, a significant amount of area is left unutilized.

In the recent past, the fisheries industry has been growing considerably on a consistent basis. It has also caught the attention of foreign investors. Several foreign investors are now investing in the fisheries industry in India for its potential to offer them immense returns. Another reason for the foreign investors to invest in the industry is the easy availability of infrastructure facilities. The liberalized policy of the government is another vital factor for the fisheries industry to attract new foreign investments in India.

Both the central government of India and the state governments have undertaken initiatives and announced several policies to boost the growth of the fisheries industry in India.

The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying, and Fisheries is the main authoritative body for development of the fisheries industry in India. This government body has been responsible for implementing infrastructure development programs and welfare-oriented schemes. It is also responsible for formulating appropriate programs to increase the productivity in the fisheries sector. Furthermore, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries is another agency that is responsible for the overall growth of the fisheries industry.

Though the central ministry takes active initiatives to boost the fisheries industry, it is mainly governed by the state governments. Each state has its own set of policies to attract new investments in the fisheries industry of the state.

Some of the most prominent states and union territories that promise huge potentials for investments include:

Goa:The state has a coastline of about 100 km and is rich in marine wealth. Fisheries are the main economic activity of the state. The fishing activity has given a big boost to the canning, freezing, and fish processing industries in the state. These industries offer great investment opportunities.

Kerala: The government of Kerala gives top priority to the fisheries sector. The sector contributes the most to the state government’s revenue and brings in foreign exchange. The government is keen to develop this industry further. There are huge investment opportunities for investors in terms of providing technological assistance to the local fishermen, providing storage facilities, fish packaging, and so on.

Apart from these two states, prominent other states and union territories, such as Assam, Orissa, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep also promise great investment opportunities in the fisheries industry.

Young property investors in India are selling at a loss because they can no longer afford to pay the interest and costs associated with owning multiple properties.

The global downturn has set off a panic reaction, inducing investors to close deals at losses. It has become almost impossible for those who invested in real estate last year to exit the scene as the downturn has deepened and the prices being quoted do not even cover the purchase costs and interest expenses.

Typical is 35-year-old Rahul Verma, who works with a Noida-based IT company. He bought a flat in Greater Noida early last year purely as an investment with a bank loan to finance 85% of the cost. Since then his EMIs have continuously gone up thanks to a series of rate hikes by the RBI. However, the prices haven’t climbed as expected and the outgoings have made the property expensive. Rahul is now left with the only option of selling at a loss. And given the global economic gloom, he is willing to take a hit.

‘Several investors are stuck simply because there hasn’t been enough price appreciation in the past one year,’ said Raheja Developers Chairman of Navin Raheja. He said that young investors bought at the peak of the property cycle last year. Many purchased two apartments simultaneously, assuming that they would finance one by selling off the other at a premium. They are now caught in a difficult situation as they bought at a higher market rate and are compelled to service two EMIs.

Some investors have started defaulting. Others are approaching developers to cancel their bookings and return the money. Meanwhile developers are finding it hard to finance projects and banks have started taking proactive measures to prevent defaults in their real estate portfolio by cutting exposure to loans against property.

State lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) has taken a lead and has stopped giving such loans, while Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Indian Overseas Bank have decided to go slow on such loans. ‘We are discouraging loan against property by refusing to provide overdraft facilities and charging higher margins,’ said a spokesman for Bank of India. Other banks are discouraging such loans by valuing the property at distress level or by valuing the property at the price it was purchased.

The recent changes in Indian economy have made a tough task to the individual young & salaried investors in a derth. However, the RBI action of reducing Repo rate and interest rates of Home loans might give some help in terms of EMI to the investors.

For more details, please visit- http://indianrealtynews.blogspot.com