Gitanjali to start marketing its first SEZ

MUMBAI: Jewellery retailer and manufacturer Gitanjali Gems Ltd is ready to market its 200 acre special economic zone (SEZ) in southern India, a top official said on Tuesday.

"Hyderabad is done. It is ready to be marketed. We've already put five factories up and town planning is complete," said Anuj Rakyan, vice president, commercial of the Gitanjali group.

The Hyderabad SEZ is Gitanjali's first infrastructure project and will house gems and jewellery exporters, providing them with tax breaks. "We are going slow," he said.

"We can't market it all the way that we wanted to, because everything in the economy is kind of going through a wait-and-watch period." "I'm just holding land, which is a very valuable asset," he added.

Gitanjali plans to develop seven SEZs to be operationalised in 7-8 years and the company has already bought land in Panvel, outside Mumbai, and has approvals for five more SEZs, he added.

It is expanding its branded retail presence in smaller cities where real estate is cheaper and new customers can be tapped, Rakyan said. "Towns are becoming cities, cities are becoming mini metros, mini metros are moving forward. They are brand hungry." In FY08, Gitanjali's US retail operations Samuels and Rogers brought $180 million in revenues, while branded retail at home almost $200 million, he said. Revenues from wholesale operations for overseas and India, was close to $250 million, said Rakyan.