Jump to content

DLF (company)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 202.92.43.51 (talk) at 18:44, 12 September 2009. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

DLF Limited
Company typePublic (BSE)
IndustryReal estate
Founded16 March 1946 as Raisina Cold Storage and Ice Company [1]
18 September 1946 as Delhi Land and Finance by Chaudhury Raghuvendra Singh
HeadquartersIndia New Delhi, India [2]
Key people
Kushal Pal Singh Chairman & Owner
ProductsOffices, Houses, Hotels, Golf courses
Revenue Rs 33.3 billion (FY 2007)
Rs 18.3 billion (FY 2007)
OwnerKP Singh and family (78%)
Websitewww.dlf.in
KP Singh
Born (1931-08-15) August 15, 1931 (age 93)
Alma materNA
Occupation(s)Chairman and CEO of DLF Universal
ChildrenRajiv [2], Pia [3] and 1 more
Websitewww.DLF.in

DLF Limited, or DLF (Delhi Land and Finance) is the world's biggest real estate developer based in New Delhi, India. The DLF Group was founded by Chaudhury Raghuvendra Singh in 1946.[4] DLF developed residential colonies in Delhi such as Krishna Nagar, South Extension, Greater Kailash, Kailash Colony and Hauz Khas. In 1957, with the passage of Delhi Development Act, the government assumed the control of real estate development activities in Delhi and the role of private real estate developers was restricted. As a result DLF began acquiring land at relatively low cost outside the area controlled by the Delhi Development Authority, particularly in the district of Gurgaon in the adjacent state of Haryana. In the mid-1970s, the company started developing DLF City] project at Gurgaon.Its upcoming plans include hotels, infrastructure and special economic zones-related development projects.[3]

The company is currently headed by Indian billionaire Kushal Pal Singh, who inherited the company from Chaudhury. Kushal Pal Singh, according to the Forbes listing of richest billionaires in 2009, now stands as the 98th richest man in the world and the world's richest property developer. The company's US$ 2 billion IPO in July, 2007 created India's biggest IPO in history.[4] In July 2007, DLF announced its first quarter results ending 30 June 2007. The company reported a turnover of Rs. 3,120.98 Crore and PAT at Rs. 1,515.48 Crore.

History

In the 1970s and 1980s DLF purchased 3,000 acres (1,214 ha) of land from farmers in Gurgaon for $2000 per acre. [5]

But at that time, the Haryana government did not allow private companies to develop the land. In 1981 when Rajiv Gandhi's Jeep overheated in Gurgaon, Rajiv walked towards a village well to get some water. Fortunately KP Singh was sitting nearby and Rajiv Gandhi asked what a rich man like him was doing in a village. KP Singh told the situation to Rajiv. Years later, when Rajiv became Prime Minister, he pressured the Haryana Government to change the local law and allow private compaines to develop the land. The haryana government relented and Gurgaon underwent a private real estate boom which is continuing to this day.[6] The boom includes world-class office buildings, apartments, golf courses, shopping malls, 5-star hotels and a private expressway linking Gurgaon to Delhi Airport.

Recent history

A major office complex in Gurgaon

Until the mid-1990s, most of DLF's(Delhi Land and Finance) operations were in Gurgaon and Delhi metropolitan area. However, with increased assets, DLF has been trying to ramp up its operations all over India. A major investment made by DLF was a INR 700 Crore ( INR 7 billion ) buyout of NTC Mill Land in Mumbai. Some of DLF's other development initiatives include a US$ 2.1 Billion investment in Tamil Nadu[5], a multi-billion dollar business park in Bangalore[6], a US$ 1.7 billion investment in Madhya Pradesh's real estate and infrastructure sector[7], and a INR 10 billion investment plan for developing special economic zones in Orissa.[8]

Developments

DLF builds residential, office and retail properties.

Joint Ventures

Laing O'Rourke- UK based construction company credited with construction of Dubai International Airport, London's Millennium Tower, etc, will construct all DLF's landmark projects. Together DLF-Laing O' Rourke shall build the expressways, ports and other megastructures of India's new economy.

Nakheel of Dubai are partnering with DLF for developing townships in India.

WSP Group Plc is also partnering DLF, providing Management and consultancy to the built and natural environment.

Feedback ventures, is providing consultancy for faster project execution to DLF.

DLF has also tied up with Hilton Hotels to jointly develop hotels in India.

Sponsorship

DLF is currently sponsoring Indian Premier League (IPL), a Twenty20 format cricket league in India. DLF Group has paid US $40 million to be the title sponsor of the tournament for 5 years.[7]

Criticism

DLF doesn't show pictures of a lot of its completed projects on its website. Which makes it difficult to see the quality of its construction. For example, its Royalton Towers in Gurgaon only shows a computer generated graphic. [8] Even though the project has long been completed.

References

Template:Companies portal