The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Housing fair at Valluvarkottam

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 13, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Housing fair at Valluvarkottam

Staff Reporter

LIC HFL expects 20, 000 visitors, Rs. 100 crore business

CHENNAI: For the next three days, Valluvarkottam is the place to check out Chennai's "housing boom". LIC Housing Finance Ltd. (HFL), expects 20,000 visitors to check into its mega housing fair, "Ungal Illam". It says Rs.100 crore could change hands at the exhibition, twice the figure for the last year.

Three-day affair

The fair, which was inaugurated on Saturday evening, will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. till Independence Day. It showcases the current and future projects of 45 Chennai builders. It is not just homes — one stall is selling complete kitchen modules, while another displays stylish bathroom fittings.

LIC Housing Finance is offering spot loan sanctions, a 0.25 percentage point cut in interest rates and a 50 per cent concession in processing fees at the fair. The company has also set up discussion chambers providing legal, technical and tax-advisory services.

The company's Chief Executive Officer S.K. Mitter, who inaugurated the fair, said the HFL was aiming for a 25 per cent growth this year.

Senior citizens housing

Housing for senior citizens is a potential growth area, he noted. The company, which has already sold a 100-unit senior citizen complex in Bangalore, is developing a second site in Orissa and is in talks with the Governments of Kerala, Rajasthan and West Bengal for several more. "It's not a social project... we will keep business margins, since the target segment is huge," said Mr. Mitter.

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