FIPB nod to Hyatt-Emaar JV for hotels in India

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has cleared global hospitality major Hyatt group's proposal to set up 'Hyatt Place' hotels in the country in a joint venture with realty firm Emaar MGF, with an investment of about Rs 125-150 crore.     

The FIPB has cleared the proposal, sought through Mauritius-based H P India Holdings, a Hyatt group entity, and has recommended it for a final approval by the Finance Minister, official sources said.     

H P India Holdings intends to set up a JV with Emaar MGF Land Ltd, in the name of Aashirwad Cobuild Pvt Ltd, with a foreign equity of 26 per cent, amounting to $25-30 million (about Rs 125-150 crore) over the next five years by itself or any other Hyatt overseas entity.     

The FIPB approval had been sought for developing, owning and operating 'Hyatt Place' hotels in various cities and markets in India, sources added.     

H P India had also sought FIPB's nod to allow any Hyatt overseas entity to enter into agreements with the Indian JV partner for strategic oversight agreements and agreements related to trademark.     

Earlier this year, Global Hyatt Corporation announced the JV with Emaar MGF for setting up six hotels by 2013 with an inventory of 950 rooms under the group's mid-market brand "Hyatt Place'. The hotels are to come up in Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Mysore, Lucknow, Indore and Mangalore.     

H P India Holdings had sought approval for "any Hyatt entity to enter into any future financial/technical collaboration with any other Indian JV partner as it erstwhile Indian JV partners have conveyed that no-objection..."     

It had also asked approval for relaxation of the automatic route for facilitating technical collaboration, the sources said.     

Besides the JV with Emaar MGF, Hyatt had also earlier announced plans to develop 14 others hotels with local developers with a total of 3,000 rooms in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Goa and Pune.