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Pirojsha Godrej, Executive Chairman, Godrej Properties Limited (GPL) told the media that the company aims to invest over $1 billion over the next couple of years to obtain and develop new projects as part of its plan to obtain higher growth. Addressing shareholders in the company's annual report, he highlighted that Godrej Properties, for the first time, was India's largest developer by the value and volume of sales it accomplished. The company's sales bookings increased 14% to a record of Rs 6,725 crore last financial year despite the adverse influence of the Covid-19 pandemic, exceeding about Rs 6,000 crore measured by Macrotech Developers (erstwhile Lodha Developers). The executive chairman highlighted that in March, the company raised Rs 3,750 crore through the Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) process. Pirojsha said that the business development in the 2020-21 fiscal year was average, as the company chose a wait-and-watch approach in the first half due to the pandemic. However, the chairman anticipates FY 2021-22 to be an influential year for business development. He said that the equity they have raised and the flexibility this provides their balance sheet will enable them to invest more than $1 billion into new projects over the next couple of years. The investment will enable the company to significantly expedite its growth objectives. The company expects to see this play a role both in assuring they scale their incomes quickly and also continue to develop the margin profile of their business by developing GPL's economic interest in every project. To increase its business, GPL acquires land outright from the market and also associates with landowners to add more projects to its portfolio for future development. Pirojsha said that the company remains committed to two medium-term goals of constantly being among the leading developers by the value of housing sales in each of its focus markets and gaining a Return on Equity (RoE) in excess of 20%. GPL concentrates majorly on four markets - Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR. It sold properties of over Rs 1,300 crore in each of the four focus markets past fiscal. The company anticipates observing a significant uptick in reported earnings from next year, Pirojsha said. Image Source Also read: Godrej Properties expects better sales bookings in FY22 as against FY21 Also read: Godrej Properties QIP raises Rs 3,750 cr