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<keyword id="20528925" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amish-Tripathi" source="keywords">Amish Tripathi</keyword>, the celebrated author behind the best-selling <keyword id="22444346" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shiva-trilogy" source="keywords">Shiva Trilogy</keyword> and Ram Chandra series, has made headlines once again for his recent acquisition in Mumbai’s elite <keyword id="22444347" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Upper-Worli-district" source="keywords">Upper Worli district</keyword>. The author, known for his retelling of Indian myths, has invested a staggering Rs 13.65 crore in a luxurious apartment located within the prestigious <keyword id="22444348" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-One-project" source="keywords">World One project</keyword> by the <keyword id="20178245" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lodha-Group" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Lodha Group" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Lodha Group">Lodha Group</keyword>. Situated in one of Mumbai's most coveted locales, Tripathi's new abode spans approximately 251 square metres of sheer opulence. Boasting interiors designed by the renowned <keyword id="22444349" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Armani/Casa" source="keywords">Armani/Casa</keyword>, the residence offers a blend of sophistication and comfort. Further, Lodha’s World One project, renowned for its exclusivity and panoramic views of the Arabian Sea, boasts some of the tallest residential buildings in India. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111582880" title="How did Delhi-NCR and Mumbai housing prices surge by nearly 50% in five years?" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>Nestled in the heart of <keyword id="20161525" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="South-Mumbai" source="keywords">South Mumbai</keyword>, Worli boasts a vibrant mix of cultural attractions and recreational avenues. Some notable destinations include the picturesque <keyword id="22444350" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Worli-Sea-Face" source="keywords">Worli Sea Face</keyword>, a favourite among joggers and evening strollers, to the iconic Bandra-Worli Sea Link, which connects the island city to its northern suburbs. Moreover, the area's upscale dining establishments, boutique shops, and cultural venues ensure that residents are never far from the pulse of Mumbai's dynamic lifestyle. Worli in South Mumbai has long also been a magnet for celebrities and prominent personalities seeking luxury and convenience. Known for its stunning sea views and proximity to Mumbai's business districts, Worli counts several Bollywood stars, industrialists, and sports icons among its residents. Notable personalities that reside here include Shahid Kapoor, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, <keyword id="6354486" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="virat-kohli" source="Orion">Virat Kohli</keyword>, Anushka Sharma, Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111663953" title="Is the cost of rent finally going down in Bengaluru&amp;#39;s IT corridors like Koramangala and Whitefield?" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>Even with 7 million books sold worldwide, Tripathi continues to expand his creative horizons. In collaboration with Immortal Studios, Wakaoo Films, and Casa Media, the author has ventured into film production, aiming to bring his novel Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved India to life on screen. His latest documentary, Ram Janmabhoomi: Return of a Splendid Sun, delves into the historical and cultural facets of Ram Janmabhoomi and the life of Lord Ram.

Shiva trilogy author Amish Tripathi buys Mumbai apartment worth Rs 13.65 crores in one of India’s tallest towers

New Delhi, Salary hike in senior level job roles is expected to reach an average of 20 per cent this year, as nurturing talent and fostering innovation remains a key focus area for companies amid the country's buoyant economic conditions, says a report. According to the <keyword id="21039371" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="michael-page" source="keywords">Michael Page</keyword> <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="india" source="keywords">India</keyword> Salary Guide 2024, there is a resurgence in hiring within traditional industries, particularly evident in the continued high demand for manufacturing and operations roles. Additionally, there's a notable surge in the need for professionals skilled in data analytics, generative AI, and machine learning across various sectors. The annual guidance report covers the key sectors of BFSI, engineering &amp; manufacturing, finance &amp; accounting, healthcare &amp; lifesciences, human resources, legal, compliance, procurement &amp; supply chain, property &amp; construction, sales &amp; marketing, and technology. According to the report, India's 6 per cent GDP growth coupled with significant domestic investments and independence from external factors, positions India uniquely in the region, even amidst global challenges. "With India's economy displaying such resilience and optimism, and surpassing its pre-COVID performance, the focus is now on harnessing this potential. Nurturing talent and fostering innovation thus remains a key," said <keyword id="21190739" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ankit-agarwala" source="keywords">Ankit Agarwala</keyword>, Managing Director at PageGroup. <keyword id="21190740" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="agarwala" source="keywords">Agarwala</keyword> further noted that the IT services industry, a cornerstone of the Indian economy, is witnessing a phase of recalibration. Companies are moderating their approach to salary increments, with expected hikes around 8 per cent-10 per cent. "Industries like consumer, renewables, finance, and healthcare are flourishing, bolstered by investments from local and domestic companies," Agarwala said. Sector-wise analysis showed that in IT &amp; Technology, the hike range varies from 35-45 per cent for junior employees, 30-40 per cent hike for mid-level executives, and 20-30 per cent increment for senior management. The property and construction sector is offering 20-40 per cent hike to juniors, 25-45 per cent hike to middle-level executives and a 20-40 per cent salary appraisal to seniors. "As we delve deeper into 2024, the employment narrative in India is about more than just salaries. Flexibility, work culture, and professional growth opportunities are increasingly pivotal in job transitions, reflecting a maturing and holistic employment ecosystem," said <keyword id="21190738" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="anshul-lodha" source="keywords">Anshul Lodha</keyword>, Managing Director at Page Group. Michael Page is a leading global recruitment firm specialising in permanent, contract, and temporary recruitment. Michael Page operates in 37 countries worldwide and has a strong presence in India.

Senior job roles to see avg 20% hike on buoyant sentiment: Michael Page

<ul><li>The average debt cost for listed realty players has fallen to the lowest levels since the Covid-19 pandemic. </li><li>While the average cost of debt for <keyword id="6354553" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Real-estate" source="Orion">real estate</keyword> companies fell by 150 basis points as of Q2 FY23, <keyword id="30067" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="rbi" source="Orion">RBI</keyword> had hiked the repo rate by 190 basis points until end-September. </li><li>The eight listed companies in the list also saw their net debt fall to ₹20,800 crore as of end Q2 FY23, from ₹24,500 crore as of end Q4 FY20. </li></ul>The average cost of debt for the top eight listed realty companies has hit its lowest since the Covid-19 pandemic – dropping to 8.14% in Q2 FY23 from 9.64% in Q4 FY20, according to a report by <keyword id="4695749" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="anarock" source="Orion">Anarock</keyword> Group. The 150-basis-point decline in the cost of debt of these eight listed realty companies is despite the 190-basis-point hike in repo rates<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rbi-hikes-repo-rate-by-50-bps-taking-it-to-a-three-year-high-of-5-9-das-says-inflation-at-alarmingly-high-levels/articleshow/94550429.cms"> announced</a> by the <keyword id="6354335" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india" source="Orion">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> (RBI) until September 2022. Overall, the gap between the average cost of debt and RBI’s repo rate has also come down drastically – from nearly 550 basis points in Q4 FY20, to 224 basis points at the end of Q2 FY23, reflecting the improved credit profile of realty companies even though interest rates have spiked. Robust topline performance was a key driver for pushing down the average cost of debt for these eight listed companies, namely – <keyword id="139366" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sobha" source="Orion">Sobha</keyword>, Puravankara, Prestige Estates, Brigade Enterprises, Mahindra Lifespace Developers, Godrej Properties, DLF, and <keyword id="6473062" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="lodha-developers" source="Orion">Lodha Developers</keyword> (Macrotech). Their strong revenue growth during these ten quarters, and the low interest rates – between Q4 FY20 to Q2 FY23 – allowed these firms to obtain new debt and refinance existing debt at lower rates, the report added. “These [measures] included a reduction in repo rate, loan restructuring, stamp duty cuts, and a relief package to boost the economy. Housing sales gathered momentum on the back of record low home loan rates and stamp duty reductions in some states,” said <keyword id="6420759" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="anuj-puri" source="Orion">Anuj Puri</keyword>, chairman, Anarock Group. The net debt of the aforementioned eight listed companies has come down to ₹20,800 crore at the end of Q2 FY23, from ₹24,500 crore at the end of Q4 FY20, and ₹42,900 crore at the end of Q3 FY21. The increase in revenue of these listed realty companies is a reflection of their rising market share in real estate sales – which went from 16% in FY20 to 23% as of FY21. Overall, these companies sold properties totalling 37 million square feet in FY20, which went up to 41 million square feet in FY21, and 57 million square feet in FY22. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Rate hikes could create upward pressure on cost of debt" comment="subhead" text="Rate hikes could create upward pressure on cost of debt">Rate hikes could create upward pressure on cost of debt</cmsannotation> As the RBI fights to control inflation through interest rate hikes, it could create an upward pressure on the cost of debt. So far in 2022, RBI has raised the repo rate by 225 basis points in total through five rate hikes. More rate increases from here on, in addition to an increase in capital requirements, could create an upward pressure on the cost of debt, the Anarock report says. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/private-equity-investments-in-indias-real-estate-sector-witnessed-a-17-decline-in-2022/articleshow/96338847.cms">PE investments in real estate decline 17% in 2022 due to inflation, rising interest rates – Knight Frank India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/top-gainers-and-losers-stocks-of-2022-in-india/articleshow/96332417.cms">Best and worst performing stocks of 2022</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/ice-cubes-to-gulab-jamuns-and-50-lakh-kilos-of-organic-fruits-and-veggies-how-india-swiggyd-in-2022/articleshow/96275305.cms">Ice cubes to gulab jamuns and 50 lakh kilos of organic fruits and veggies – how India Swiggy’d in 2022</a>

Average debt cost for top eight listed realty players lowest since pandemic, says Anarock

<ul><li>Gaana has a new CEO, COO and CTO now. </li><li>Gaana has now set its sight firm on tapping the country’s unprecedented potential in the OTT sector.</li></ul>Gaana has strengthened its management by appointing Sandeep Lodha as its new CEO and roped in former <keyword id="51757" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="TIMES-INTERNET">Times Internet</keyword> executives <keyword id="1645388" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vivek-Pandey">Vivek Pandey</keyword> as COO, and Ram Awasthi as CTO. By strengthening the leadership, Gaana has now set its sight firm on tapping the country’s unprecedented potential in the OTT sector. All three leaders bring with them almost 60 years of rich experience that is poised to provide Gaana with the growth impetus. Speaking on the announcement, Gautam Sinha CEO Times Internet said, “The Indian OTT ecosystem is about as exciting, dynamic, and competitive as it has ever been. We have seen an amazing batch of OTT brands develop and flourish over the last few years, and we have seen unprecedented interest from global companies keen to tap into the Indian consumer opportunity. At Gaana, we are equally excited about our next stage of tech-led relationships with users, content producers and advertisers with Gaana. Our new CEO Sandeep’s experience leading hyper-growth brands like Disney &amp; OYO, Vivek's 360-degree product, growth and monetisation experience, and Ram’s strong &amp; visionary leadership in technology make us believe we can achieve the audacious goals we have set for the brand in the coming years.” A proven leader within the media &amp; entertainment industry, Sandeep has 22 years of rich experience in scaling brands in hyper-growth sectors with Disney, Bain &amp; Company, Weddingz.in &amp; Intel Capital. Sandeep founded Weddingz.in and created India’s largest wedding co which he then sold to OYO. The brand scaled 14X within 15 months post acquisition, while Disney’s consumer products business grew by a healthy 50% YOY under his leadership. Sandeep holds an MBA from The Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania, and BTech from IIT Delhi. Vivek has been the Vice President of Revenue Strategy and Analytics at Times Internet, also managing TIL's AdTech stack. He has contributed towards the goal of increasing the group’s reach to a billion Indians and monetising this reach effectively through revenue initiatives. He has also been instrumental in major digital transformations at companies like Tata Cliq, MakeMyTrip and Indiatimes Shopping. Ram is a technology leader with hands-on experience in envisioning, architecting and delivering a broad range of distributed, internet scale &amp; real time applications. In his earlier role, he was responsible for leading new business initiatives &amp; setting up high performance technology teams &amp; evaluation of tech stacks for different business units under Times Internet, technology evaluation for new business acquisitions, integration of central services to different business units, responsible for cyber security of all Times Internet businesses and acquired businesses. With over four decades of combined experience between them, Vivek Pandey &amp; Ram have been the key pillars of the Times Internet’s central leadership team, having set up and led high performance analytical product, marketing &amp; technology teams for the group over the years.

Gaana shuffles leadership; hires Sandeep Lodha as new CEO

<ul><li>This is the third time the developer is proposing to take the company public after two failed attempts in 2009 and 2018 in the backdrop of unfavourable market conditions.</li><li>The reports indicated that the company took the decision to go public after a recent spurt in residential sales and improved investor sentiments.</li><li>The company is known for its prominent luxury offerings such as the Trump Towers in Mumbai and Grosvenor Square in London.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/">Check out the latest news and updates on Business Insider.</a></li></ul>One of India's largest real estate players Macrotech Developers — formerly known as <keyword id="6473062" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lodha-Developers">Lodha Developers</keyword> — has filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to raise around ₹2,500 crore through an initial public offering, according to <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/ipos/fpos/lodha-developers-plans-to-raise-rs-2500-crore-with-10-dilution-through-ipo/articleshow/81030219.cms">news reports</a>. The Mumbai-based company is known for its prominent luxury offerings such as the Trump Towers in Mumbai and Grosvenor Square in London. For the proposed share sale, the company is looking to dilute at least a 10% stake. In 2019, the Lodha Developers changed its name to Macrotech Developers. However, the company said it will continue using the brand name ‘Lodha’ for selling and or leasing its property. The news reports indicated that the company took the decision to go public after a recent spurt in residential sales and improved investor sentiments. This is the third time the developer is proposing to take the company public after two failed attempts in 2009 and 2018 in the backdrop of unfavourable market conditions. The proposed amount of ₹2,500 crore is more than half of what the company had planned to raise earlier. In April 2018, Lodha Group had approached SEBI to raise around ₹5,500 crore through an initial public offering (IPO) and had received the regulator's nod to launch the IPO, but the company backed off citing challenging times for the realty sector. The company first attempted to list its shares on the bourses in 2009 to raise about ₹2,800 crore. The company also received SEBI's nod in early 2010, but later dropped the plan due to unfavourable market conditions caused by the global financial crisis of 2008. The reports indicated that the company has roped in investment banking firms such as Axis Capital, ICICI Securities, Edelweiss Securities, IIFL Securities, SBI Capital, JM Financial, Yes Securities, Bank of Baroda Capital, and JP Morgan as advisors for its IPO. “The <keyword id="6474120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lodha-IPO">Lodha IPO</keyword> is majorly a primary issue of shares and the proceeds are likely to be used for debt reduction, land acquisition and new projects,” according to a Moneycontrol <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/lodha-developers-files-papers-with-sebi-for-rs-2500-crore-ipo-as-realty-makes-comeback-6529871.html">report</a>. The stars are aligning perfectly for Lodha Group The company is coming up with IPO plans just days after the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the annual budget added thrust for affordable housing. Sitharaman extended the exemption for affordable housing until March 2022, making the section of the real estate sector quite attractive. The recent Economic Survey by Krishnamurthy Venkata Subramanian, India’s chief economic advisor, showed that the COVID-19 pandemic had hit the residential property market during the first quarter. However, the sales have now improved dramatically in the affordable homes segment since July. <div type="image" title="PR31122020_CH1" msid="81038248" hostid="261"></div> According to the RBI data, the year-on-year growth in the all-India House Price Index (HPI) continued to be moderate. It stood at 1.1% in the second quarter. The stocks of its listed peers such as DLF, Godrej Properties, and others have seen a favourable investors interest in the past three months. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Stock </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Change since Sept 30 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">DLF </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">108.52% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Godrej Properties </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">75% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Mahindra Lifespace </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">106% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Sobha Ltd </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">105% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Brigade Enterprises </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.9907650000000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">74% </td></tr></tbody></table> SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/indian-hotel-companies-have-shown-resilience-during-the-pandemic-and-now-the-markets-are-celebrating-them/articleshow/81032369.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Indian hotel companies have shown resilience during the pandemic and now the markets are celebrating them</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/its-round-its-two-sided-and-it-could-be-the-most-accurate-world-map-created-till-date/articleshow/81033263.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">It’s round, it’s two-sided and it could be the most accurate world map created till date</a>

Lodha Developers files papers for ₹2,500 crore IPO — will it be a third time charm?

<ul><li><keyword id="3237946" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sandeep-lodha" source="Orion">Sandeep Lodha</keyword>, CEO, <keyword id="-77" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="gaana" source="Orion">Gaana</keyword> pens down the platform’s success story.</li><li>He shares how Gaana* has managed to beat all its competitors and vision ahead.</li></ul>A lot of work has been happening behind the scenes at gaana to take the user experience up to the next level, we are as excited and passionate about what Gaana is becoming than we’ve ever been. Here’s a brief update on what we’ve been working on at Gaana, and some of the results that get us excited to get up every morning and bring music to a billion Indians! Creating the most intuitive and engaging musical experience At our core, our passions are centered on making Gaana the most intuitive and engaging music product available. We’ve worked hard to improve a lot of things under the hood to make that happen - like optimizing our recommendation algorithm, speeding up music playback, and improving our user experience. The major metric, which tells us if we’re doing a good job, is retention - how many people who used Gaana last month are still using it this month. And we’re happy to share that from May to Sep, we’ve improved our monthly retention by 48%. Source: App annie Other metrics tell us the same thing. Today, our users listen to 36% more songs and spend more time per day on Gaana than ever before, up 39% in the last 6 months. The verdict is clear: Users love Gaana, more than any other streaming product Source: Google Play Store Retaining &amp; Growing Users Our focus has been to ensure Gaana delivers a great experience. And because of this, our growth efficiency is higher than ever before. Over the last few months we have improved our marketing efficiency (cost per net added user) by 31%. Making Gaana a healthy business Delivering a great musical experience to crores of Indians is exciting, but we’re also here to make a healthy business. We’ve revamped our ad products to make them more effective. Increasing the share of direct business allows us to actually reduce ad load. The net impact is that our ad revenue per user (ARPU) has grown 135% in the last six months. I’ve been the CEO of Gaana for just four months, and I know we are just getting started. We have so much more to offer, and you’ll continue to see exciting product innovations and of course great music on Gaana in the months to come. Today, hundreds of million music lovers use Gaana. We’re building one of the largest consumer media platforms in India. The party has just begun! Bas Bajna Chahiye Gaana, Sandeep *Gaana is owned by <keyword id="51757" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="times-internet" source="Orion">Times Internet</keyword>, which is the parent of Times Bridge, Business Insider's partner in India*

Inside Gaana’s success story: Sandeep Lodha on the platform’s journey so far and what the future holds

<ul><li>Macrotech Developers, formerly known as Lodha Developers, is ready to go public after over a decade, even as uncertainty looms over the realty sector.</li><li>The biggest risk factor with the company is its high debt.</li><li>It is uncertain how the COVID-19 pandemic will play out and if the company will be able to raise funding in a capital intensive industry that’s witnessing a slowdown.</li></ul>It has taken one of the largest real estate players in India, Macrotech Developers — formerly known as Lodha Developers — over a decade to get to this point, but the company is finally going public. The company’s core business is focused on building residential developments, which is good news since home loan interest rates in the country have been falling for the last five years. As of 2:00 pm on April 7, the Macro Developers' IPO was subscribed to 0.24 times. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Category </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">IPO subscription </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">QIB </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">0.58 times </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">NII </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">0.09 times </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">RII </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">0.10 times </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Employee </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">0.01 times </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Total </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">0.24 times </td></tr></tbody></table> “Home loan interest rates in India have been the lowest in the past couple of years and this has led to a significant recovery in transactions in all classes of housing — affordable, mid segment and luxury,” said Rohit Poddar, managing director of Poddar Housing and Development — a listed competitor to Macrotech. However, the realty sector is one of the worst hit by the pandemic. And, according to analysts, the industry is facing its worst slowdown in the last five years. This risk is compounded by the fact that Macrotech Developers also has high indebtedness, which will partially be financed by the funds it raises from its ₹2,500 crore initial public offering (IPO). Considering that most of the company's projects are based out of the Mumbai Metro Region (MMR), its debt may be a cause for concern. The capital intensive and high indebtedness should be a hurdle when looking for further financing. “The high leverage ratio limits the scope of the company to absorb any shocks of unforeseen events,” said <keyword id="6357264" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="capital-market">Capital Market</keyword> in its review. Others, like <keyword id="197560" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Securities">Reliance Securities</keyword>, believe that while there are risk factors involved, the IPO seems to be reasonably priced as compared to its competitors, like Godrej Properties and DLF, at a price band of ₹482 to ₹486. It opines that despite the debt and the market outlook, Macrotech Developers has some big projects in the pipeline. “Moreover, its return ratio looks to be superior compared to peers,” said the review. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Brokerage </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Recommendation </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Reliance Securities </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Subscribe </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Choice Broking </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Subscribe </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Capital Market </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Avoid </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">SMC Global </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Neutral </td></tr></tbody></table> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The ₹2,500 crore initial public offering (IPO) has been a long time coming" comment="subhead" text="The ₹2,500 crore initial public offering (IPO) has been a long time coming">The ₹2,500 crore initial public offering (IPO) has been a long time coming</cmsannotation> The company got the green light from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (<keyword id="35210" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="sebi">SEBI</keyword>) in 2009 and again in 2018, but shelved its plans for an IPO citing that the market was not ideal for the launch. Over ten years later, even with the threat of COVID 19 looming over markets and the realty sector surrounded in uncertainty, the Marcotech management believes that its IPO can persevere. This is slated to be the first IPO of the financial year 2021-22. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Macrotech Developers’ high debt" comment="subhead" text="Macrotech Developers’ high debt">Macrotech Developers’ high debt</cmsannotation> The money that the realty firm raises from its IPO will partially be used to repay the company’s borrowings. The rest shall be used for land acquisition or land development rights as well as general corporate expenditures. The draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) shows that Macrotech Developers’ aggregate debt stood at ₹18,662.19 crore as of 31 December 2020. “Macrotech Developers’ plan to reduce net debt to ₹12,700 crore in the coming quarters negates concerns over high levering. Further, strong project portfolio and monetisation of huge land banks offer comfort,” said Reliance Securities in its report. The company currently has 91 completed projects under its belt with another 36 in the works. This includes plans to develop a logistics and industrial park of over 800 acres in Mumbai, near Palava. “If the company does not have access to funds required on favourable terms, it may be required to delay or abandon some or all planned projects or reduce the scale of operations,” noted Capital Markets. And the larger issue of how the COVID-19 pandemic is going to play out brings in a lot of uncertainty. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/news/rbi-has-increased-mobile-wallets-limit-with-2-lakh-and-need-full-kyc-also-for-mobile-wallets/articleshow/81946037.cms">You need to do full KYC for mobile wallets too – but you can store twice the amount of money</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rbi-forecast-shows-that-narendra-modi-administration-is-facing-its-worst-inflation-period-so-far/articleshow/81946820.cms">RBI forecast shows that Narendra Modi administration is facing its worst inflation period so far</a>

Macrotech Developers’ IPO has low home loan interest rate playing in its favour — but high debt and COVID-19 pandemic cloud its prospects

<ul><li><keyword id="-77" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gaana" source="Orion">Gaana</keyword> recently reshuffled its management, bringing <keyword id="3237946" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sandeep-lodha" source="Orion">Sandeep Lodha</keyword> on board as its CEO.</li><li>We recently caught up with him and he spoke to us about the potential of the <keyword id="2435252" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="audio-streaming" source="Orion">audio streaming</keyword> space, where India is headed and the platform’s growth trajectory and all that the platform is doing to make sure it holds on to its leadership position.</li></ul>In the last 1.5 years, as most of us had to lock ourselves in our houses, music gave us that much-needed respite. While a lot of music and <keyword id="1590914" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="podcast" source="Orion">podcast</keyword> consumption used to happen during commute time in the pre-pandemic era, the lockdown led to people using music as a stress buster. Haven’t most of us streamed music in the background to make everyday chores less monotonous? There has been an increase in both the number of subscribers and the time they spend on audio streaming platforms in 2020. People have been experimenting with the kind of content they listen to, and podcast uptake has seen a significant jump. In fact, a report from KPMG revealed that India is the third-largest podcast-listening market globally and is expected to be valued at Rs 17.62 crore by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 34.5%. Currently, Times Internet-owned streaming platform Gaana is at the top of India’s audio streaming chart with a 30% market share, according to a study by Kantar and audience measurement and analytics company VTION earlier this year. The platform also recently reshuffled its management, bringing in Sandeep Lodha as its CEO. We recently got an opportunity to catch up with Lodha who spoke to us about the potential of the audio streaming space, where India is headed and the platform’s growth trajectory. Excerpts: Q) Audio streaming has witnessed a boom in India in the past few years, and Gaana has been one of the key players in the segment. In fact, reports reveal you have the market leadership position currently. What are a few things that have helped you get that edge? Over the years, we have invested heavily in understanding the musical content consumption tastes of the Indian audience. Gaana has set up an internal team on content &amp; product innovation called Gaana Innovation Labs, which will launch a suite of cutting-edge products and content formats at the concurrence of Music and technology. The team consists of people from content programming, event production, music engineering and few external consulting advisers tasked to deliver India Specific innovations. In addition to enhancing the platform experience by lieu of technology, we constantly conduct market research to drive user insights and based on the findings, we curate our offerings to meet the demands of users across India. So, be it tailoring playlists to launching properties such as Gaana Lives that assists singers / artists connect directly with the audience in the absence of Concerts, we aim to ensure that every user is catered to. The coming months you will see more of the insights being put to action as we work towards our goal of being the go-to music destination of India. On the advertiser front, we realized advertisers increasingly demand clear attribution modelling, better ROI and actionable leads, so we launched voice activated ads and dynamic audio ads. Similarly, in order to serve SMEs and MSMEs who demand local advertisers, we will bring them onboard with self-serve ads. Each of these steps have kept us ahead of the competition in the <keyword id="808056" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="music-streaming" source="Orion">music streaming</keyword> space. Q) A lot of players make the best use of algorithms, to play just the songs I want. How is Gaana strengthening its offering, to become more personalized, to give users a more holistic experience? Each music listener has a specific taste in music, languages, genres, artist’s moods etc. like a Bollywood fanatic, party lover or EDM fan. Therefore, personalization and recommendation are of utmost importance for a platform like Gaana. We pay close attention to user personalization across all our consumers and product journeys each aided with respective and suitable product interventions. Every user who enters the platform is automatically classified into various user persona buckets based on his /her journey, actions, kind of music consumed: language, era of music, genre of music, time of day, type of podcast consumed etc. etc. This allows us to be hyper-contextual to each and every user basis their personas. We are constantly working with the technology teams out here who are developing algorithms to better understand a user’s music consumption patterns across beats / mood / genre and based on that, the platform suggests music recommendations. Of course overlapping playouts on top of that. The coming months a lot of great stuff can be expected on this front. Q) How has Gaana has been enabling brands to create engaging ad experiences? How are you also ensuring that ads don't become intrusive from the user perspective? We believe ads need to have relevant and useful information, in order to not come off as intrusive. Our brand partners can target a specific audience based on their age, gender, location, weather, time and even music preferences. By matching the advertiser’s ideal target audience with our user personas, we are able to reach the right set of people at the right time. Our ‘Unwind with Taj’ campaign is a great example of what audio advertising can do for brands, where we brought alive the magic of Indian classical music for millennials. The specially curated ‘Unwind with Taj’ playlist on Gaana was aimed to serve as a destination for millennials and a set of premium audiences with refined taste to explore the splendor of a genre that showcases the music heritage across generations. Q) How have you enabled brands to create budget-friendly ads? We have recently launched a self-serve ads platform, where advertisers can plan, create and monitor their campaigns on their own. SMEs and small advertisers who are interested in hyperlocal targeting of audiences, have found huge value in both these initiatives. We believe this kind of innovation will further strengthen audio ad’s share in advertiser plans. Q) How do brands stand to benefit by partnering with you over other players from the segment? The audio streaming industry is evolving, and we believe competition in the space is healthy enough to keep the brands at a task of bringing new offerings to the table for its users and maintaining the market share. When partnering with Gaana, advertisers have access to the widest distribution of any music streaming service in the country, while having access to a rich set of audio advertising formats and an end-to-end creative studio to tailor campaigns to their individual needs. Q) How have you been using AI to bolster your ad offering? We use AI and ML capabilities extensively in our voice-enabled ads, helping our clients struggling with the “click challenge” inherent to the medium: because audio can’t be clicked – unlike the visual-based digital ads published on web and mobile interfaces. With voice activated ads, users can engage with audio ads via voice commands to take a specific action. This kind of ads empowers the listener of the audio ad on Gaana to talk back to the ad and tell it if they are interested in the offer or not. Cutting edge innovation that makes advertising more democratic than ever before. Leading the right set of users to the client. Q) What is your target in terms of the number of users you want on the platform for this financial year? We hope to continue our leadership in the music streaming sector. Our target is to increase our user base to 500 million over the next 3 years, and turn profitable in two years. During the course of the last 12 months, there has been a significant shift in audience behaviour as well as content consumption patterns. On Gaana we witnessed a substantial increase in music consumption across India. To cater to the needs of the users, we will constantly expand our library to have music right from Bollywood to regional languages such as Bhojpuri, Haryanvi, Tamil and more. Not just that, we will also focus on genre-expansion in a bid to meet the needs of our users. We aim to be the go-to platform for everything in music. Q) Where will the next phase of growth for Gaana come from? Going ahead, what will your key focus areas be? As we constantly look to expand our library and focus on diversification of music content, we strongly believe the next phase of growth would come from Indie music. As we foray into newer markets and focus on regional content, the growth is slated to stem from tier II and tier III cities as well. Our primary focus area of expansion will be diversifying our content library. We aim to have everything in music, not just in terms of languages but also genres meditation, devotion, workout and so on. We will also focus on bringing new avenues of entertainment, such as live streaming. The Dua Lipa Studio2054 concert hosted exclusively on Gaana witnessed a tremendous response with over 150,000 users attending the stream. This huge in comparison with say a concert that hosts a few thousand attendees at best. In addition to that we hosted a number of live sessions with podcasters from various categories. We are also implementing a pay per view and subscription-only model with the premium live events starting with Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy who performed live on Gaana apart from other iconic singers in the upcoming events. From a revenue aspect, there are quite a few avenues that we are looking at: Ad revenues, subscription driven revenues and promotional marketing. Q) How have podcasts been performing for you? Are you already monetizing them? There was a surge in podcast creation during the pandemic and that is primarily attributed to the low cost of investment. Podcasts have always enjoyed a loyal audience base and on Gaana too, we saw a healthy consumption on podcasts. Having said that, currently podcast consumption on Gaana comprises 1% of our minutes. We aim to be the YouTube of Podcasters and scale up 20X in the next 12 months. From an Advertising viewpoint as well, podcast listening has great value in terms of user attention and hence an opportunity for users. It’s an anytime, anywhere audio medium which provides a great platform for content creators. So from all quarters creators, suppliers, consumers and platforms - the podcast ecosystem is poised to rapidly expand and bound for exponential growth in revenues. Q) How has 2021 been in terms of growth so far? Do you anticipate consumer sentiments will pick up, thereby improving the growth for the overall audio streaming segment? Over the last year, at the beginning of the pandemic there was a stabilization in the volume of engagement of consumers. However, with time consumers discovered new content formats, new content categories and hence the engagement rates kept on growing. With the brutal second wave, clearly there was an impact on sentiments and engagement as well. With most of the major cities now unlocking the engagement numbers are back to earlier levels and we believe that with new content formats and categories being discovered, there will be a surge in engagement and consumption over the course of next few months.

We aim to be the YouTube of podcasters and scale up 20X in the next 12 months: Sandeep Lodha, Gaana

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<keyword id="125045" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Fitch-Ratings">Fitch Ratings</keyword> has withdrawn the ratings on <keyword id="7940335" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Macrotech-Developers">Macrotech Developers</keyword> (formerly Lodha Developers) but has retained its existing rating CCC, which is junk or below investment grade.Fitch has affirmed the long-term foreign currency issuer default rating on Macrotech at CCC and has also simultaneously withdrawn the ratings for commercial reasons, the agency said on Thursday. The rating affirmation reflects the assessment that there are no material changes to its credit profile since the last rating action on March 13. Normally ratings are withdrawn if the issuer is not cooperating or ask for withdrawal. Lodha's Response Fitch had undertaken rating for our USD bond maturing in March 2020 which was repaid in full. On repayment, we have asked them to discontinue the rating which has now been done. The repayment of our bond on time inspite of the most difficult market circumstances demonstrates how weak the rating rationale of such agencies is." Said company spokesperson

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