Around 90 of the top 100 global retail chains want to be in India, commercial real estate consultant firm Cushman &amp; Wakefield&rsquo;s CEO , Asia Pacific, Sanjay Verma, tells Nivedita Mookerji. He speaks on the economic meltdown and its impact on the Indian real estate, big drivers for the sector, outlook for office space and international investors&rsquo; faith in the market.

Q&A: Sanjay Verma, Cushman & Wakefield

Business Standard

For the first time since the rollback of the retail foreign direct investment (FDI) decision, US-based retail major Walmart has spoken out, reiterating its faith in the India market.

Walmart upbeat on Indian market

A three-hour board meeting of Unitech Wireless, the first one after former chairman Sanjay Chandra got bail in the alleged 2G telecom spectrum scam, ended on a note of disagreement between the two partners, according to people with direct knowledge of the development. The joint venture partners, Norwegian telco Telenor and Indian realtor Unitech, have been in the midst of a shareholders&rsquo; dispute over many issues, including funding.

Minds fail to meet at Uninor board meet

Clause on 30% sourcing from Indian SMEs a particular concern.

Foreign retailers query FDI rule details

The doyen of Indian real estate, DLF chairman KP Singh, is more keen on philanthropy these days than on the business that he had started decades ago. After his recently published autobiography 'Whatever the Odds&rsquo;, he&rsquo;s already looking forward to a biography, where he&rsquo;s known as a giver more than anything else.

Want to remain leader, but it's getting tougher: KP Singh

Tourism is set to get a definite push as a part of the government&rsquo;s strategy to attract investments across sectors and bring growth back on track. Foreign exchange earnings from tourism stood at an estimated Rs 77,591 crore in 2011, 19.6 per cent more than the previous year&rsquo;s Rs 64,889 crore. Last year, 6.29 million foreign tourists visited India.

PMO push to boost tourism

A team from Abercrombie &amp; Fitch, a prominent American clothing chain, was in India recently to explore setting up shop in the country, according to a top executive of a consultancy firm.

Abercrombie, Gap may plan shops in India

Scandinavian home products giant, Ikea, which had given the thumbs down to conditions attached in the policy allowing 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail, says it is not giving up on its India plans. At least, not yet. Company spokesperson Josefin Thorell told Business Standard Ikea would be able to talk about plans for an India store during spring, that is by March-April.

Ikea not giving up on India yet, sets spring deadline

Soon after Manhattan-based American major Pfizer announced it was buying Madison-headquartered drug firm Wyeth for $68 billion, German giant Merck agreed to purchase rival Schering-Plough for $41.1 billion. This was 2009, a time when global pharma majors were trying to diversify their range of products to cope with the economic meltdown. It was also the beginning of a phenomenon that has played out fortuitously for Indian real estate companies.

Nivedita Mookerji