NEW DELHI: Realty firm Unitech has received strong investor interest from potential buyers for the sale of company’s Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Gurgaon, a top official said today.

“…company is developing 5 IT SEZs in joint venture with Unitech Corporate Parks. Process for monetisation of one of these SEZs, Infospace Gurgaon, is underway as it is at a very advanced stage of development. We have received strong interest from potential buyers,” Unitech Chairman Ramesh Chandra told shareholders at the annual general meeting.

The AGM, which was held at Chhattarpur area in South Delhi, also witnessed protest from about 40-50 agitated buyers of one of its project in Gurgaon, according to Shailendra Bais, who is Secretary of Unitech Uniworld Gardens II Apartment Owner Association.

Unitech Corporate Parks (UCP), a Unitech group firm listed in London, is negotiating with the private equity firm Blackstone and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC to sell its IT SEZ in Gurgaon for Rs 2,700 crore, sources had said.

UCP listed on the AIM of the London Stock Exchange, is developing IST Infospace Gurgaon with leasable area of 3.6 million sq ft. UCP holds 60 per cent in this project, while realty firm Unitech has the remaining 40 per cent stake.

During the last financial year, Unitech Group registered a total revenue of Rs 2,629 crore and a net profit of Rs 209 crore. In 2012-13, it launched several new projects totaling 3.98 million sq ft across different cities and received sales bookings for a total area of 5.47 million sq ft valued at Rs 2,806 crore.

Stating that macro-economic environment continued to remain challenging with the country’s GDP growth falling to sub 5 per cent levels, Chandra said: “Procedural delays and inertia in decision-making have affected progress of projects in the infrastructure and real estate sectors.

“Clearly, these are difficult times. I am confident, though, of the long-term prospects for the country and for the real estate sector,” he added.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/real-estate/news/strong-investor-interest-for-unitech-gurgaon-sez-chairman-ramesh-chandra/articleshow/23114927.cms