logo
Blackstone acquires South City Mall in Kolkata for ₹3,250 crore

Blackstone acquires South City Mall in Kolkata for ₹3,250 crore

Hindustan Times3 hours ago

Blackstone has acquired South City Mall, one of Kolkata's largest shopping destinations, for ₹3,250 crore. The mall spans 10 lakh sq ft of retail space and was acquired with ANAROCK serving as the sole transaction advisor.
According to ANAROCK, South City Mall houses over 150 stores, featuring a wide range of Indian and international brands. It generates an average annual turnover of over ₹1,800 crore and includes the largest food court in the region. The property also offers multi-level parking with a capacity of over 1,250 cars.
'We applaud Blackstone on this acquisition. South City Mall is indeed a prime retail asset in one of the most prestigious and sought-after areas in South Kolkata. The mall boasts numerous premium retail and lifestyle brands,' said Sushil Mohta, chairman of Merlin Group and director of South City Projects.
Soumendu Chatterjee, Regional Director - Land, ANAROCK Group, said "We are delighted to have been the sole transaction advisor for the iconic South City Mall. We look forward to seeing the project continue to thrive in Blackstone's able hands. The mall has a very high footfall - daily visitors range between 55,000 and 60,000, surging to 75,000–200,000 during weekends and festive seasons.'
'We are committed to continuing South City Group's wonderful work and positioning South City Mall for long-term success, benefiting from our scale, operational expertise, and deep experiences in the retail sector, particularly in India where we own one of the largest retail portfolios,' Asheesh Mohta, Head of Real Estate Acquisitions - India, Blackstone, said.
Prakash Bachhawat, Director, JB Group, who led the transaction process on behalf of South City Projects, says, 'This transaction represents more than an acquisition – it's a vote of confidence in Eastern India's retail ecosystem. South City Mall is an iconic development, and we're proud to partner with a world-leading firm like Blackstone."
South City Mall was developed by a consortium of leading real estate players in the region and launched in January 2008.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Rail link for Maruti factory: What this means for car transport logistics in India
Rail link for Maruti factory: What this means for car transport logistics in India

Time of India

time20 minutes ago

  • Time of India

Rail link for Maruti factory: What this means for car transport logistics in India

Gurgaon: Inauguration of a multi-modal cargo terminal at Maruti Suzuki 's manufacturing plant in Manesar is being touted as a shift towards sustainable transportation that will help India's largest carmaker reduce its carbon footprint. What is a multi-modal cargo terminal? As the term suggests, a multi-modal terminal is a specially designed facility that helps transfer goods between different modes of transportation. The idea is to leverage the strength of different transportation modes – cost-efficacy and eco-friendliness of railways, flexibility and last-mile connectivity of road, and speed of air freight. According to govt officials, there are 108 such terminals in India. What about the Manesar terminal? The two-storey terminal, India's largest such facility, was built over 46 acres inside Maruti Suzuki India's manufacturing plant in Manesar. It will be used exclusively by the automaker. How will it operate and what are its benefits? Cars manufactured at Maruti's Gurgaon plant will be transported by truck to the Manesar plant, where they will be loaded into railway coaches for dispatch to various destinations. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Vehicles manufactured at the Manesar plant will be directly loaded into railway coaches from the cargo terminal for transporting across India. This will reduce the carmaker's reliance on trailer trucks, eventually easing road and highway traffic, including in NCR. Officials told TOI the company engages 9,000 truck transporters for ferrying its vehicles across India. How is this different from 'truck on train' RoRo (roll on, roll off) service? The 'truck on train' service for auto parts, rolled out on the western freight corridor from Rewari last year, allowed companies to send trucks loaded with auto parts or vehicles to be loaded onto trains. Once the cargo rakes reach their destination, trucks roll down the train and deliver the goods. How will cars be transported across India from the terminal? According to officials, the terminal will facilitate transport to 380 Indian cities. From the Manesar plant, cargo trains will go up to Patli station, which is part of the 126km Haryana Railway Orbital Corridor (HORC) project. HORC, of which only the Manesar-Patli portion has been completed till now, will connect Palwal to Sonipat through a broad-gauge double railway line for both passenger and goods traffic. The corridor, meant to decongest train traffic in Delhi with a bypass, will enable faster and more-affordable long-distance travel from Gurgaon, Manesar and other industrial hubs of Haryana. Patli station also falls on the Northern Railway line, which goes to Rewari, where it can switch to the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC). This 1,500km freight corridor starts from Dadri in UP and transports goods up to Gujarat — where Mundra and Pipavav ports are located. The freight corridor, once completed, will eventually reach JNPT port in Mumbai. What is railways' share in transporting Maruti vehicles? The automaker started dispatching its vehicles through railways over a decade ago. About 5% of vehicles manufactured by Maruti were transported via rail in 2014-15. This share steadily went up over the year, reaching 24% last financial year. The company says it aims to transport 35% of its production through trains by 2030-31.

India's AI regulation can be a model: Google executive Wilson White
India's AI regulation can be a model: Google executive Wilson White

Business Standard

time24 minutes ago

  • Business Standard

India's AI regulation can be a model: Google executive Wilson White

Google's stance on the optimism and pro-innovation around artificial intelligence (AI) is very similar to the principles adopted by the Indian government under its IndiaAI Mission, the company's vice-president of government affairs and public policy in the Asia-Pacific Region, Wilson White, said. 'We see a very clear trend, particularly here in the Asia-Pacific region, on a much more robust view of how to regulate AI in ways that spur innovation, and are responsive to the optimism and pro-innovation kind of orientation around AI that exists in the region,' White told Business Standard. This approach, adopted by Asian countries such as India, Japan, and Singapore, is very different from the path taken by some of the Western countries and regions, such as the European Union, he said, adding that the ASEAN countries were 'expressly stepping away' from such prohibitive regulations. This approach, he said, aligns with Google's path and thinking around the development and deployment of AI to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the technology, White said. India's approach to regulating AI, where the government is very 'clear-eyed' about the risks associated with the technology, but also the dangers of overregulation in the early days, should be a model approach to lawmaking for AI, he said. 'For us, the mantra that we use is bold, responsible, together. We want to be bold and push the bounds of technology, publish our foundational research so that others, like small businesses, can benefit and innovate from that as well,' White said. The APAC government affairs and regulatory chief is on a short visit to India this week. There are some risks with AI that have been identified by experts across the globe. In such areas, Google will deliberately go slower to ensure that the company is not doing more harm than good, he said. The only way to continue with such research and development is to do so in conjunction with the entire ecosystem, especially startups that push the bounds of innovation, he said. Despite the rapid advancements made by companies and countries around AI models, large language models, and large reasoning models, the technology is still in the early days of development, White said, adding that the investments being made by the respective companies or countries were because the 'promise of AI' was real. 'We are seeing it in the areas of healthcare, where we are now able to get ahead of diseases that have vexed humankind for a long time. We are seeing it in places like agriculture and education, so I think it's clear to folks that the promise of AI is real,' White said.

Rise in helicopter crashes may spur 15-30% hike in insurance premiums
Rise in helicopter crashes may spur 15-30% hike in insurance premiums

Business Standard

time24 minutes ago

  • Business Standard

Rise in helicopter crashes may spur 15-30% hike in insurance premiums

Helicopter insurance premiums in India are likely to rise by 15–30 per cent owing to a recent spate of domestic accidents and mounting aviation losses faced by global reinsurers, industry insiders said. Aviation insurance is largely a reinsurance-driven area, with the general aviation market comprising corporate jets, helicopters and others accounting for 15 per cent of the segment in India. The remaining is commercial aviation. In FY25, the premium accumulated from the aviation segment in India was nearly ₹1,010 crore, up 4 per cent from the previous year. In general aviation, the premium rates are calculated based on the age and seating capacity of the hull combined with liability. The hull value of helicopters ranges from ₹25 crore to ₹30 crore going all the way up to ₹100 crore. The average premium in the helicopter segment is also around ₹75 lakh, according to industry experts. This is likely to increase by 25-30 per cent in line with the overall hardening in the aviation insurance market. 'There have been 5-6 helicopter crashes in the last few months. Overall, Indian insurers are under pressure in terms of premium versus claims. We have seen rates rising steeply for smaller rotor wing operators, like those who fly to Kedarnath, Chardham, or maybe small general aviation helicopter operators. In some cases, the premium has also doubled. Also, amid the Air India crash, there will be a hardening in the insurance market in the coming months,' an insurance broker said. On June 15, a helicopter crashed in Kedarnath, making it the fifth such incident in the Char Dham route, since the pilgrimage started on April 30. This comes days after the crash of Air India AI-171 in Ahmedabad. Previously, six people died when a helicopter crashed in Uttarkashi on May 8. Similarly, a crash was averted in Badrinath on May 12. On May 17, an air ambulance crashed in Kedarnath but no casualty was reported. On June 7, a helicopter on its way to Kedarnath made an emergency landing on the highway due to technical snag, developed during take-off. Additionally, rates in the aviation sector are also expected to increase due to huge claim outgo in the Air India crash combined with the ruling by the London High Court regarding jets stranded in Russia, among others. 'Helicopter insurance rates are expected to increase due to a combination of domestic accidents and significant global aviation losses. A series of high-profile claims, including a UK court ruling of $4.5 billion and other aviation incidents like the Air India and Boeing 737 MAX losses, are straining global reinsurers. Also, the overall aviation insurance premium rates are likely to harden due to limited capacity, heightened geopolitical risks and currency fluctuations. Premiums for helicopters may also rise 15–25 per cent, in-line with the overall aviation insurance segment,' an insurance executive said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store