PBEL is a joint venture of Property and Building Corp (PBC)

Hyderabad: PBEL, a joint venture of two top Israeli real estate firms and an Indian developer, Wednesday announced that the company would invest Rs 4000 crore ($1 billion) over next three years in real estate projects in India.

Launching its operations, the company officials announced at a news conference that it had already invested Rs 500 crore to purchase 125 acres of land for four projects in Hyderabad, Chennai and Mysore. It plans to build 10 million sq ft of world-class residential and business space in the three cities.

PBEL is a joint venture of Property and Building Corp (PBC), Electra Real Estate (ERE) and INCOR Infrastructure.

PBC is the real estate arm of IDB Group, Israel's largest business conglomerate with global assets in excess of $27 billion. It is active in the realty space in North America, Europe and Asia.

ERE is another top Israeli real estate firm owning 109 properties and 58 hotels in Europe and North America. INCOR Infrastructure is a Hyderabad-based company.

Meir Boukris, director and founder of PBCL, told a news conference that the Israeli companies would hold 90 percent stake in the new entity while the remaining would be with INCOR.

"We intend to develop the land and build high quality high-rise apartment buildings with modern amenities in environment friendly surroundings," said Meir.

"India is one of the most attractive countries in the world economy. It has high growth rate and there is appetite for more growth," he said explaining the reasons for the Israeli companies to invest in India.

The company has acquired 58 acres of land near the upcoming Outer Ring Road and Shamshabad, on the outskirts of Hyderabad. It plans to build a residential project, catering to the employees of new international airport and IT companies, and office space.

The company would raise Rs 4700 crore through banks for the four projects in three cities. The work on the first project in Hyderabad would be launched soon.

"To begin with, we are focusing on southern India as the region has high growth potential," said Meir, who has been doing business in India for over two decades.

"We look forward to more investment opportunities in India, focusing mainly on tier-II cities," he said.

Through these projects the Israeli companies will bring to India their world-class standards in real estate, environment friendly constructions, engineering expertise and architecture.

"There are already some Israeli players in real estate in India. We feel more comfortable here as the Israeli culture is close to Indian culture," he said.

"The growth potential is tremendous in south India, especially in cities like Chennai, Hyderabad and Mysore," said Anand Reddy, executive director of PBEL.

"PBEL will bring international know-how of high-quality products and consultants from abroad who have worked on renowned projects worldwide," he said.