COLLIERS Jardine has won formal government backing to operate in India on domestic terms.
The international property consultancy heads a string of other consultancies, ambitious to get a foothold in the fast-expanding market, that have applications under consideration with the government.
A number, including Colliers Jardine, have had representatives in the country for some time.
Colliers, part-owned by the Jardine group, is the first officially to be approved by the government to operate throughout the country as an Indian company.
It has formed a joint venture with Housing Development Finance Corporation, (HDFC), India's largest real estate finance institution, and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), a leading initiator and financier of infrastructure pro-jects.
Colliers has already established offices in Bombay, New Delhi and Bangalore, and hopes to expand.