1. NRI community in UK gives farewell to outgoing Indian envoy:

  

LONDON: Indian High Commissioner to the UK Dr Jaimini Bhagwati, who is retiring at the end of this month, was given a touching farewell by leaders of the NRI community in Britain.

At the farewell event hosted at the Indian Gymkhana Club at Osterley here last night, Lady Mohini Noon, wife of Lord Gulam Noon, presented a memento to Dr Bhagwati and his wife. 

 

 Leading NRI businessman Dr Rami Ranger presented a memento to the couple on behalf of the Indian Gymkhana.

Joginder Sanger, Chairman of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan who organised the event, echoed the sentiments of the speakers saying "Dr Bhagwati had earned a lot of respect and regard from the community during his short tenure here as the High Commissioner."

Lord Noon, President of the Indian Gymkhana Club, said Dr Bhagwati has been "an outstanding High Commissioner". Dr Rami Ranger thanked Bhagwati for his "dynamic leadership." 

Jagdish Sharma, leader of the Hounslow Council, said "Dr Bhagwati's role has been integral for the building up of India-UK relations."

Others who spoke included Lord Dolar Popat, Virendra Sharma, MP, Paul Uppal, MP, Seema Malhotra, MP, Cllr Sachin Gupta, Mayor of Hounslow, H S Sohi, President Gurudwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha, and Lord Raj Loomba. 

In his reply, Bhagwati thanked the NRI community profusely saying "in this country you have excelled in every walk of life. You exemplify the best in India."

Bhagwati, a career diplomat, took charge as the High Commissioner to the UK on February 27 last year.

Earlier, he had served as the Indian Ambassador to EU, Belgium and Luxembourg, in the ministry of External Affairs in various senior positions, in the Ministry of Finance and also the World Bank. 

2. Tips for NRIs investing in commercial property in India:

 For Non Resident Indians (NRIs) looking at investing in Indian property today, the task is challenging. On one hand, with the rupee touching all time lows against the dollar, it appears to be a great time to remit funds to India for investment. However, on the other hand, with India's growth story looking bleak, the prospect for high returns seems an uphill task. For Non Resident Indians with big budgets and who have the appetite for some serious real estate investing, here's an option you might want to consider.

If you are keenly looking at investing in property in India, consider commercial spaces. "Today, NRI's are buying commercial properties for investment. Of course, HNIs also continue to plough huge amounts of money into high-ticket commercial properties in the quest for yield. Private bankers and wealth management firms confirm that their clients have actively started investing in commercial properties after staying away in 2009 and 2010. These investors have bought into commercial properties because they seek assets that can protect their portfolios from inflation and stock market volatility. The possibility of diversifying your portfolio, the sheer pride of ownership and the benefits of the longer leases that typify commercial tenants are the other reasons why an investor should look at commercial real estate investing" says Ramesh Nair, COO - Operations, Jones Lang La Salle.
So if you are looking at commercial property, here are some tips that might help you.
 

 Location:
"Investors need to establish the soundness of the location and its demand/supply dynamics. If they do not engage in sufficient research, they may end up buying into micro markets which have or will have high vacancies," Nair says. NRIs must ensure that the economy, job market and population growth in the market is healthy.
"Today Bangalore and Mumbai offer the best investment opportunities for commercial," he adds.

 Type of property:
There are different kinds of commercial properties that are available. The popular ones are retail and office spaces. "Till a few years ago, only large units were available in both, making it difficult for a small investor to invest. However, there has been a change and smaller spaces are becoming available," says Pankaj Kapoor, Founder and Managing Director at Liases Foras Real Estate Rating & Research Pvt Ltd.

 
"Many developers, especially in cities such as Mumbai, are today offering smaller units of space (as small as 500-1,500 square feet) in Grade A buildings. Investors looking at retail space can now consider a multitude of affordable options in free-standing high street outlets or shops in malls," Nair says.
In fact, if you are looking at buying retail space, Nair says it is advisable to look at high street rather than a mall as a strata sold mall is a recipe for disaster. In a strata sale model, shops in a mall are pre-sold to individual investors. The developer thus restricts himself to selling a store as a unit and investor can hunt for a tenant. The problem arises because the model has no control over trade and tenant mix and there is no cohesiveness to the mall to attract customers.

Out lay and expected returns:
Experts suggest that the minimum budget you should have in mind for a commercial investment is Rs 3-4 crore.

Gauri Kesarwani.

PGDM- 1st (Sem.)

Date: 20th-sep-2013.