Could banks survive with land fraud?

Land fraud and mortgage fraud over the past years have grown significantly in Sri Lanka threatening the stability of local banks. Thus it’s time to take immediate action as the money lent by banks on negative equity or forged deeds belong to the depositors. More>> (Source: Sunday Times)

Latest property stats available now

Average land and house prices at the end of 2011 now available on LankaPropertyWeb.com. 


Average house prices climb to Rs. 17.88 million and land prices at 630,000 per perch. 


For full stats, visit http://www.lankapropertyweb.com/house_prices.php

Shangri La breaks ground for 661room hotel in Colombo

Shangri-La Asia Limited will invest 408 US$ million on this hotel project.  The star class hotel will have 661 rooms, 30 storied and the construction work is to be completed in 2015.
 

Shangri-La is also planning to construct it's second hotel in Hambantota to open in 2013, on approximately 115 acres of land with a 315 rooms with a  investment of 120 US$ million.

More>>

(Source: News.lk)

Real estate changes hands via unreal deeds

Dubious land deals are on the increase with more and more cases piling up in courts, with some of the victims seeking the assistance of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe them. The frauds have sparked off a multitude of serious repercussions including that of banks unable to recover their loans granted for land purchases, incomplete constructions and victims losing millions of rupees.

Within three months of setting up, the CID’s special unit to probe land frauds has received more than 1,000 complaints with more coming in on a regular basis. “We have arrested four main gangs involved in land frauds, but more complaints are coming in “, a senior officer involved in the investigations told the Sunday Times.

More>>

(Source: Sunday Times)

US Hilton to be asked to run Colombo Hilton

Colombo’s Hilton Hotel will be managed by its parent organisation in the United States and re-furbished to accommodate VVIPs when Commonwealth leaders meet for their summit in 2013, if a proposal now before the Cabinet is accepted.

It was barely four months ago that Hotel Developers Limited, the owning company, was taken over as an “underutilised” or “underperforming” venture in terms of a controversial law. Thereafter, a Competent Authority, who was appointed to oversee the working of the hotel, had recommended sweeping changes to a Cabinet Sub Committee headed by Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa.

More>>

(Source: Sunday Times)

Expats, key to condominiums

Although the overall trend in Sri Lanka’s luxury real estate segment remains positive, caution needs to be exercised with respect to two fundamental market determinants in the real estate industry, warns a recent research report. According to the recent research report titled ‘Sri Lanka Real Estate Market Brief’ done by KPMG in association with Research Intelligence Unit (RIU), since, there are a finite number of expatriate Sri Lankan’s living in the West who have already been at the frontline in picking up luxury apartments since the end of the civil war, the peak levels of their interest in Sri Lankan real estate maybe either fast approaching or even possibly behind us in which case the rate of demand growth is likely to slow down. 


More>>

(Source: The Nation)

India's ITC, franchisee for the US-based Sheraton leisure group pays 50% of the lease for luxury hotel

India's ITC Ltd, franchisee for the US-based Sheraton leisure group, has finalized its hotel land deal with the Sri Lankan government paying 50% or US$73.5 million for the 5-acre plot of land opposite Galle face Green in Colombo, Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa said.


International investors including-Shangri-La Group, CATIC (China), the Minor group (Thailand) and M-Far Hotels (Oman) and ITC (India) have committed substantial investments in Sri Lanka while Six Senses Hotels, Banyan Group, Accor Hotels, and Dusit (Thailand),) have either invested or are currently exploring opportunities to make investments, officials said.


More>>

(Source: Sunday Times)