HDFC ups home loan rates
Mumbai: Housing Development Finance Corporation is hiking its home loan rates across the board by half a percentage point from 2 May 2006. With the change the minimum fixed home loan interest rate stands at 10.5 per cent, and the minimum floating rate 9 per cent, said company sources. Its prime-lending rate is now 11.75 per cent. The company had last hiked its rates in February 2006 by half a percentage point.
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Indiabulls Fin de-merges real estate division
Mumbai: Indiabulls Financial Services is restructuring its businesses through a scheme of de-merger. The scheme proposes to de-merge the assets and liabilities of the real estate undertakings of IBFSL into Indiabulls Real Estate.

According to the shareholding pattern in the de-merged entity, all shareholders of Indiabulls Financial Services will be issued shares of Indiabulls Real Estate in the ratio of 1:1. That is, for each IBFSL equity share of face value Rs2 fully paid up, shareholders will be allotted one equity share of Indiabulls Real Estate of face value of Rs2.

Shareholders of IBFSL thus will continue to hold the same number of shares and, in addition, will receive corresponding number of shares in the de-merged entity. The shares of the de-merged entity will be listed on the stock exchanges in India, where IBFSL shares are listed.

This would unlock value for all shareholders, as they can participate directly in both the financial services and the real estate construction/development business of the company. The de-merged entity will include Indiabulls' investments in the real estate undertakings including the acquisition of 11 acres of Jupiter Mills land in Lower Parel, Mumbai, acquired by Indiabulls Properties from NTC through an auction for Rs276.6 crore and another acquisition of 7.8 acres of Elphinstone Mills land in the same area by Indiabulls Real Estate Co from NTC for Rs441.75 crore.

Also Indiabulls Estate and its subsidiaries are in the process of acquiring land for construction and development of township and housing project in Sonepat, Haryana — these companies have already acquired over 115 acres of land in that area.

Indiabulls infrastructure owns 50 per cent shareholding in Kenneth Builders and Developers which had won the 35.8 acres of residential land located in south Delhi through an open auction by Delhi Development Authority for Rs450.01 crore for a public-private partnership project.
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MetLife launches `Met Bhavishya' policy
Coimbatore: MetLife has launched `Met Bhavishya, a children's insurance plan which ensures that the future of the child is not compromised by the untimely death of the parent.

According to the insurance plan the parent is the insured and the child - the beneficiary. Met Bhavishya allows the parent to plan for the child's future expenses, on education with the assurance that the sums would be paid irrespective of the parents' continued investment (due to untimely death). The premiums paid and the maturity/survival proceeds are eligible for tax breaks.

Stating that it would be the `best gift' that a parent could give the child, not only during his lifetime but beyond, as long as the child lives, company sources said the plan guaranteed returns to meet the child's educational expenses at different stages.It comes with 2 options - fixed term benefit, periodic additions and terminal benefit.
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ICICI to open `touch points` every 5-10 km in rural areas
Mumbai: ICICI Bank plans to open various "touch points" that will fall within 5-10 km from customers in rural areas. Each touch point will be a full-service banking centre, offering services ranging from routine banking transactions to trading in shares and commodities, availing of loans and buying life and general insurance policies — the services urban customers enjoy at bank branches.

Officials said a person entering a touch point will come out having availed of all the services he wants. The touch points will be managed and operated by local entrepreneurs, be it pharmacists or tractor dealers. ICICI Bank plans to cover 400,000 of over 600,000 Indian villages through its hub and spoke hybrid channel architecture. The bank has already implemented 50 per cent of the strategy in over 50 districts in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and south India.

It plans to complete the implementation in these districts and cover 50 per cent of 200 more districts by the end of the current year.
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