Mr.Rajiv Singh is taking India’s leading real estate company Delhi Land and Finance (DLF). DLF Ltd. is the largest real estate developer in India, with around 73 years of business experience in the realty sector. Mr.Singh has over 35 years of professional experience. He directs the strategy and oversees the operations of residential, commercial, retail, infrastructure, hotels and SEZ business lines of the company. “The Udyog Ratna Award” for “Valuable Contributions to Economic Development of Haryana”, was awarded to Mr.Singh in December, 2005. As per recent report of November,2022, the richest real estate tycoon in India, Rajiv Singh has a net worth of INR 61,220 crore. Current Chairman of DLF, who was previously part of board of directors, saw an increase in wealth by 68 percent in the last one year, according to GROHE Hurun report 2022.
After making successful forays into insurance, hospitality and retail, the company, which Singh now runs as Chairman and heir apparent to DLF Chairman Mr.K.P.Singh, has bagged Indian Premier League (IPL) title sponsorship rights. By associating DLF with cricket, the biggest passion in the country, Mr.Singh intends to make it a popular brand with high recall. Mr.Rajiv Singh’s father, Mr.Kushal Pal Singh has often been on the list of real estate tycoons in India. Mr.K.P.Singh has also been conferred the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian awards in the country.
Mr.Rajiv Singh, Chairman of the company, DLF Limited, was born on 8th May,1959. He is a graduate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA and holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He possesses more than three decades professional experience. He spearheads the Company’s strategic implementation. He provides an, oversight and guidance in corporate structuring in relation to major investments and allied matters. Rajiv’s wife Kavita became advisor to DLF Commercial Developers Ltd. She was also appointed advisor to DLF Universal Ltd., with a retainer of Rs 250,000 per month and other benefits. Rajiv and Kavita have two daughters, Savitri Devi Singh and Anushka Singh. Both of them also work for the company.
On June 4, 2020, Mr.Rajiv Singh was appointed new Chairman of DLF, replacing Mr.K.P.Singh and it was decided that the latter will continue in a non-executive role as Chairman Emeritus. Mr.K.P.Singh, Non-Executive Director was at the helm of the affairs for about five decades.
Mr.K.P.Singh, father of Rajiv Singh is confident that his granddaughters, have the grit and aptitude to take the empire forward. Savitri, elder one, is business head of the company’s mall division. Anushka, the younger, takes care of DLF Phase V homes. Both have completed their Bachelor Degree from the University of Pennsylvania, with a specialization in Real Estate and Management. Mr.K.P.Singh trusts his instinct when he says that DLF Phase V is his dream, he would like seeing fulfilled through the eyes of his granddaughters, thanks to the vision of his son Rajiv. This success story has been dream and passion.”
DLF Group is the largest real estate company of India in terms of revenues, market capitalisation and developable area. It has around 70 years track record of sustained growth, customer satisfaction and innovation. DLF group has over 231 million square feet (msf) of completed development and 423 msf of planned projects and has pan India presence across 32 cities. Its main business is development of residential, commercial and retail properties. The company has a unique business model with revenue arising from development and rentals. Its exposure across business, segments and geographies, mitigates any down-cycles in the market. DLF has also forayed in infrastructure, SEZ and hotel businesses.
In an interview, Mr.Rajiv Singh shared his vision of DLF’s future, “DLF will have good blend of annuity projects and development projects. We will also have extremely strong balance sheet. We will not add but replace our land banks. Balance sheet will allow us to do all that without any strain. We could also leverage the balance sheet to create something significant. We will have to take a call on that in future. At this point of time, focus is to create an ethical and compliant organisation. We will be able to do much more than what we can do today with such an organisation.”
All this while, DLF’s reality business has remained solidly on track, delivering an impressive profit. For a man and his company setting such a pace, a few mishaps are can be expected. DLF’s most notable failure was the unsuccessful bid for a telecom licence that effectively put on hold its foray into the booming telecom sector. Earlier, its plan to list of stock market in 2006 was delayed by a year due to regulatory issues. But when DLF did finally list in July,2008, its Rs.9000 crore IPO made Indian stock market history as its biggest ever issue.
Mr.Rajiv Singh is of the view that large scale infrastructure developments across the country will create a need for supporting real estate. Real Estate Sector will do well. The govt. has been supportive during a difficult patch. If it continues supportiveness, the industry will reciprocate. It will be a big contributor to India’s growth in the years to come.
By: Kamlesh Manchanda
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