What is the focus area in India – residential or commercial?
We see a huge opportunity in residential. We are starting with a 3,000 acre township at Mohali (Punjab) which will have residential, retail and office space too. The first batch of homes will be ready in the next 18 months, and will be priced between Rs 50 lakh-2 crore. We will be investing $1.5-2 billion in Punjab over 5-7 years. Why did you chose to start with Punjab? We did a survey which pointed us to Punjab for our entry strategy. Punjabis are more extrovert. They believe in living well and spending well. They have the ability and aspiration to spend compared to the south, where they tend to be a little more conservative. There is also the huge non-resident market available there. The stock markets were feeding the real estate market too. With sentiment seriously down in stocks, do you expect a shadow on the booming real estate sector? Some companies want to take advantage of the euphoria in real estate. They are trying to come out with issues taking advantage of the market buoyan
