With the real estate market sentiment weak, has raising funds become difficult for companies like yours?
There are many large and reputed multinational companies looking to invest billions of dollars in India. For instance, US major J P Morgan Chase has announced its intention to double its proprietary investment in India. This shows that there are good investment opportunities available in India at the moment. BPTP has already diluted nearly 9% of its equity and we are quite happy that and all our investors have shown good confidence in the company and have done repeat investments. In fact, companies like ours, which have positioned themselves right, do not foresee much of an issue in raising funds.

You recently took 94 acres for Rs 4,958 cr in Noida. What plans do you have?
BPTP won the Asia's largest land deal of prime commercial land in Noida, outbidding well known developers such as DLF, Omaxe and Ansals. The deal was not only the most expensive but also has the biggest size in Asia. India is currently the buzzword internationally. This is the right time for an organised, well planned and a world class business district to emerge in India as the nerve centre of Indian and international businesses. BPTP plans to make this newly-acquired 94 acres of land in Noida an international destination for commercial space, hotels, retail and entertainment. In order to quickly implement this project, the company has already tied-up with one of the most renowned global firms of architects, Fosters + Partners, London. The traffic and pedestrian management will be planned by WS Atkins Intelligence, landscaping by dosAdos and Utility and building services by Buro Happold -- all leading international stalwarts in their respective fields of operations apart from Indian architects and consultants. This destination is being planned on the lines of some of the best business and shopping destinations of the world such as Canary Wharf of London, More London and Roppongi Hills, Tokyo. The cost of construction for the Noida project is estimated at Rs 5,000 cr. A total of 25 lakh sq ft will be built in phase I, likely to be completed in three years. Over 70% area will be developed with sprawling landscapes, open areas and greeneries. The green building concept will ensure environment-friendly structures.

You plan to tap the capital market. Are you waiting for positive triggers in the stock market?
We have no immediate plans for an IPO. However, we shall keep on reviewing the scenario as per the needs of the business.

You are among the few real estate groups that have PE funds interested. Will we see more PE deals ?
We are open to PE deals. We feel that the PE route is the right route for real estate companies at this point in time.

Many real estate groups have already forayed into hospitality, financial services, retail and telecom. Do you have any plans to diversify?

We are already in retail, hospitality and SEZs, besides residential and commercial sectors. We have planned a five-star hotel at BPTP Parklands, Faridabad. Our Noida project will focus on retail, commercial and hotel sectors. The BPTP Group companies recently got notifications from the Central government for setting up of three SEZs across NCR. We do not have any plans to venture outside the real estate sector at this point in time.

What potential do you see in the Indian retail market?
The Indian retail growth story has just started. Due to the sharp increase in per capita income of the middle class over the last four-five years, the retail sector shows a tremendous growth potential in the long run. In a country like India, there may be temporary blips here and there but in the long term, the outlook of the retail sector looks bright.