Gulf investors eyes Indian estates for investment

Dubai, Oct 6 (UNI) Gulf investors are looking to pour billions of dollars into Indian real estate, as regulators ease restrictions on foreign capital flowing into the sector.

The Gulf's oil-fuelled current account surplus that will hit 227 billion dollar this year is looking for a home.

Dubai's Emaar Properties has announced a 4 billion dollar scheme to build homes, schools, hospitals and shopping malls in partnership with Indian developer MGF.

They are planning to build across India, including the capital Delhi and Maharashtra state, home to the commercial capital Mumbai.

''The opportunities in India are immense,'' said Rakesh Patnaik, head of real estate investment at Global Investment House, a Kuwaiti investment bank.

''India is still a new market. It is only in the past 12-24 months that it has opened up,'' he said.

With domestic real estate markets saturated and the West seen as increasingly hostile by some, Gulf investors are turning to India's emerging property market, Gulf News reported.

''The regulators are trying to assess the risks versus rewards,'' says Shuchita Mehta, an economist with Standard Chartered bank in Mumbai.

Other Dubai-based developers, including ETA Star and Nakheel, are eyeing residential and hotel projects.

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