Farhan

Real estate firm Emaar MGF will be listed in the Indian bourses by launching an initial public offering (IPO) to raise $1.7 billion by early next month, said the company's chairman.

'We are leaving it in the hands of the authorities and I believe they will do good due diligence. We are expecting the IPO to happen early January,' Mohamed A. Alabbar, chairman, Emaar Properties, told reporters on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit here Monday.

'We are planning to raise about $1.7 billion for our expansion in India,' Alabbar said, adding that the company is bullish not only in India's real estate sector but other segments as well, such as infrastructure, healthcare and education.

Emaar MGF has filed the draft prospectus for the IPO with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in September.

The global co-ordinators and book running lead manager to the issue are Enam Securities and DSP Merill Lynch.

Emaar MGF is a joint venture between the Emaar group of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and leading Indian real estate developer MGF.

- 3rd Dec, 2007