IIFL Home Finance Ltd. (IIFL HFL) in collaboration with Asian Development

IIFL Home Finance Ltd. (IIFL HFL) in collaboration with Asian Development Bank (ADB), launches 1^st event from the flagship Kutumb series to promote green affordable housing in India

IIFL Home Finance Ltd. (IIFL HFL), in collaboration with Asian Development Bank (ADB), organised its flagship event Kutumb which is an initiative to promote Green Affordable Housing in India. The event took place at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi on December 14^th, 2021 with the presence of Mr. S.K. Hota (MD, National Housing Bank) & Mr. Nirmal Jain (Founder & Chairman, IIFL Group) as chief guests. The event also had speakers from development finance institutions (DFIs) such as Asian Development Bank and Proparco (an arm of Agence Française de Développement Group (AFD Group).

Under the project 'Resilient & Green Affordable Housing for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Low-Income Group (LIG) categories in India', IIFLHFL, with the support of ADB, will be hosting series of it’s flagship event ‘Kutumb’ at various locations across the country. The objective of Kutumb is to enable and support the green building ecosystem in the affordable housing sector in India. Kutumb, Delhi Chapter, titled ‘Climate Resilient & Green Affordable Housing in India’ focussed on affordable, low-carbon and resilient homes. The programme witnessed over 120 attendees, a mix of housing developers, financiers, subject matter experts and consultants.

Mr. Monu Ratra (ED and CEO, IIFLHFL) said, "The pandemic has brought in high consciousness towards green and sustainable construction amongst the developers, as well as the homebuyers. Also, considering buildings contribute around 35% of carbon emissions and with the vast majority of housing stock yet to be built in India, it is imperative to hold platforms such as Kutumb to build an ecosystem to foster green, sustainable and affordable housing in India.”

Sharing her views, Ms. Susan Olsen, Senior Investment Specialist for South Asia, ADB said, “Building climate-resilient and sustainable communities begins by giving access to affordable and green homes, particularly for lower income groups that are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. IIFL HFL is our partner in broadening the scope of green affordable housing in India.”

The event witnessed discussions and deliberations between industry experts such as Priya Sunder (Senior Investment Officer, Asian Development Bank), Diane Jegam (Directrice Régionale PROPARCO Asie du Sud chez Proparco),  nationally renowned architect Ashok B Lall (Principal Architect, Ashok B. Lall Architects), Mohua Mukherjee (Economist & Green Finance Professional, Independent Director, IIFL Home Finance Ltd.), Dr. Sejal Patel (Professor & Chair, Faculty of Planning, CEPT), Ravi Aggarwal (Co-founder & MD, Signature Global Group of Companies), and Saswat Bandyopadhyay (Project Director, CEPT). The event was conducted in a panel discussion format supported by presentations. The panels focused on subjects ‘Sustainable Finance in Affordable Housing’ and ‘Importance of Climate Resilience in Affordable Housing’ in India.

 In the series of Kutumb, the next event is likely to be scheduled in Ahmedabad, in the first week of February, where IIFLHFL and ADB aim to bring together the affordable housing developers, planners, architects, consultants and potential homebuyers on one forum and address subjects relevant to green affordable housing in the area.

Egis wins new design contract for

 Egis wins new design contract for the Dhaka metro Line 5 south

Gurugram/ Bangladesh: Egis has signed the Contract Agreement with Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) for the design of the Dhaka Metro Line 5 South. Egis, leader of the consortium, will work in partnership with SMEC and OCG.

The project is funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB) under the Ministry of Road Transport & Bridges. The proposed length of this route will be 17.4 km including 4.6 km of elevated (Aftabnagar Center-Balirpar) and 12.8 km of underground (Gabtoli-Aftabnagar West) section which will include total 14 stations. Southern Metro Rail will carry nearly 1 million passengers each day.

Bangladesh Government is planning to build Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line 5, commonly known as southern metro rail, in Dhaka.

The 3-year project is divided into three distinct phases:

▬    Review and revision of the feasibility study during nine months

▬    Detailed design of the civil engineering and systems up to the DCE for fifteen months

▬    Assistance in the evaluation of bids and in the selection of builders

Egis teams will be in charge of project management, architecture and technical trades for all stations, civil engineering for the underground stations and the design of almost all the rail systems.

With this first contract in Bangladesh, Egis continues its development in metro projects in south Asia.

Chola issues unlisted NCDs in tenors

Chola issues unlisted NCDs in tenors 

3-5 years for INR 1056.90 crore to ADB

Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Limited (Chola), a leading financial services provider in India, today announced that it has issued unlisted Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) in tenors of 3 to 5 years for INR 1056.90 crore (USD 150 Million) to Asian Development Bank (ADB) .

ADB provides medium and longer term financing to banks, NBFCs and FIs, with focus on promoting financial inclusion in lesser developed regions, especially for undeserved and lower income customer segments towards support for creation of physical income-generating assets apart from encouraging greater gender equality and participation.

Chola – with its core strengths and solid track record, is focused on lending to the Small Road Transport Operators (SRTO) and SME borrowers, and has a pan India presence.  The inroads made by Chola in Tier IV and Tier V towns in lesser penetrated regions augurs well to meet the objectives of financial inclusion of ADB to the undeserved and lower income customer segments.  Chola’s focus on funding productive assets rather than for consumptive purposes also fulfills the criteria of ADB in extending support for creation of physical income-generating assets.  Also the strong risk management framework, corporate governance and quality of management of Chola, supported by the guidance from the Murugappa Group, has resulted in ADB choosing to work with Chola in furthering their goals of financial inclusion in India.

ADB’s assistance to Chola is composed of senior secured nonconvertible debentures of tenors from 3 to 5 years, to help finance its lending operations to SRTOs and SMEs. Half of this target under ADB’s financing will be from lagging states in India, resulting in improved economic growth prospects and employment opportunities in these areas. SRTOs engaged in logistics, distribution, and transport-related industries will be given priority and SMEs seeking loans for investment and working capital will also benefit from access to this term financing.

“Chola with its focus on funding commercial vehicles for the SRTO segment and to the SMEs is ideally suited to meet ADB’s objectives.  We look forward for a lasting relationship with ADB in furthering our goals mutually” said Mr Arun Alagappan, Executive Director of Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Limited.

“ADB’s financing to Chola will help ensure that SRTOs and SMEs, which are crucial to the Indian economy, have access to the necessary long-term capital that they need to continue contributing to the country’s growth and development,” said ADB Principal Investment Specialist for Private Sector Operations Mr. Anshukant Taneja. “ADB’s financing, which has been provided in the backdrop of a slowdown in credit growth in the Indian banking system, has a countercyclical effect and is expected to boost investments and employment.”