Company Lands $547M Credit Line for New City

BANGALORE, INDIA-Royal Indian Raj International Corp. has secured a $547-million (GBP 300-million) equity commitment structured as a line of credit to help fund development of Royal Garden City, a 6,000-acre development near the new Bangalore International Airport. The financing is being provided by the New York-based GEM Global Yield Fund.Based in Vancouver, BC and incorporated in Nevada, RIRC says line of credit is one of several instruments being utilized for the development’s $9-billion first phase, which will include 146.3 million sf of built space. The first phase will include 35,000 residential units, a central business district, industrial district, entertainment district, parks, restaurants, shopping, educational facilities and civic amenities. Approved by the government of India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board, Royal Garden City will be completely web-enabled and have captive electrical generation, modern water and sewage treatment plants and advanced water recycling and harvesting. Construction of the first phase will begin this fall, according to RIRC. Completion of all phases is expected in 2015. An estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people are expected to live, work and play within the city daily. RIRC is working in India under the Integrated Township development program of the Indian Federal Government and hence is allowed to own lands through a 100% Indian subsidiary. The Royal Garden City Project is currently preparing to list on a UK Exchange. Three other Royal Garden City development projects are slated for 2006/2007 in Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata. A company executive was unavailable Tuesday for comment.”The Indian government has spelt out key incentive policies to provide an impetus towards easing the flow of private investments, and Royal Garden City is one of the first to have been conceptualized and planned to meet this objective,” says RIRC chairman Manoj Benjamin in a prepared statement. “We see the integrated township format as a key driver of future housing supply and as a catalyst for the much-needed infrastructure investments in the rapid urbanization of India.”GEM Global Emerging Markets is a private investment group specializing in control (via LBO’s) and minority public market investing (via private placements). GEM’s private placement group makes minority equity investments in quoted companies.