Henderson Secures Site in HK’s Central for HK$234M and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

One of Hong Kong’s largest developers leads today’s roundup, with Henderson Land having a acquired a site in Central district with plans to develop a 20-storey residential tower on the site.

Also in the news, GIC-owned logistics platform P3 has picked up 33 warehouses in Germany, and a mainland joint venture picked up a Singapore residential site as a Lion City land sale brought stronger than expected bidding.

Henderson Secures Site in HK’s Central for HK$234M

Henderson Land has added a mid-levels site to its Hong Kong land bank with the blue-chip developer winning the remaining pieces of an aging residential property at an auction for HK$234 million ($30.2 million), according to a press release by JLL, which managed the tender.

The auction was arranged through a compulsory sale after Henderson had acquired more than 80 percent of the space in 27E and 27F Robinson Road in Central district. The Hong Kong-listed builder is said to be planning a 20-storey residential project for the 3,822 square foot (355 square metre)site, according to local media accounts. Read more>>

GIC’s P3 Buys German Retail Logistics Assets

GIC’s wholly owned unit P3 Logistic Parks is ramping up its presence in Germany, having inked an agreement to acquire 33 retail logistics assets there.

The real estate portfolio is in prime urban locations in major German cities and towns, and spans over 650,000 sq m of space, GIC said in a release on Thursday. GIC did not comment on the value of the acquisition. Read more>>

Singapore Land Sale Bids Exceed Expectations

The tenders for two confirmed-list residential sites under the government land sales (GLS) programme for the first half of the year closed yesterday.

The two 99-year leasehold land parcels – in Tanah Merah Kechil Link and Yishun Avenue 9 – offered for sale by the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Housing Board (HDB), respectively, are the first GLS tenders to close since the pandemic began. Read more>>

Trustee of Troubled SG Hotel REIT Expected to Name New Manager

DBS Trustee will comply with a directive by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to remove the current REIT manager of Eagle Hospitality Trust. A potential resuscitation bid for the trouble-plagued REIT will also be announced “imminently”.

The so-called notice of intention was issued by the regulator cum central bank on Oct 26, as the REIT manager was deemed incapable of complying with MAS’ rules and regulations. The REIT manager, EH-REIT Management has also committed multiple breaches of the Securities and Futures Act. Read more>>

Evergrande Among 12 Developers Told to Report Financing Monthly

China’s regulators have stepped up efforts to rein in Chinese developers, requiring some of the country’s largest real estate companies to disclose details on financing on a monthly basis.

The housing watchdog and central bank have asked 12 developers including China Evergrande Group, Sunac China Holdings Ltd. and China Vanke Co. to report their financing, total debts and business data on the 15th of every month, according to a person familiar with the matter, who requested not to be identified. Read more>>

WeWork’s New CEO Is Eyeing an IPO Again — After He Turns Profit

WeWork is on track to turn profitable in 2021 and will then revisit plans for an initial public offering, Chief Executive Officer Sandeep Mathrani said, a year after the startup’s IPO fiasco prompted the ouster of his predecessor.

The office-sharing startup renegotiated leases, laid off staff and replaced management after Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. took control. The business is bouncing back “100%” in certain Asian markets, including China, South Korea and Singapore, Mathrani told a small group of reporters in India on Wednesday. Read more>>

Sino Group and Ping An Launch ‘PropXTech’ Innovation Programme

Sino Group and Ping An Smart City jointly announced the official launch of ‘PropXTech’, a corporate innovation programme that focuses on property technology (PropTech). The programme is designed to foster promising technology companies in the Greater Bay Area and develop innovative technology solutions for the real estate industry.

Operated by the Ping An Technology Innovation Center team, the programme is scheduled to kick off in February 2021 with four to eight PropTech companies as its first cohort. During the five-month programme, participants will attend intensive training sessions and workshops, gain access to Sino Group’s innovation ecosystem to develop pilots and proofs-of-concept, as well as test and fine-tune their solutions in a real-world environment. Read more>>

Robinsons to Close Last Singapore Stores

Robinsons is liquidating its two department stores at The Heeren and Raffles City Shopping Centre, the retailer said on Friday (Oct 30).

This means that Robinsons’ last two stores will be closing and the company will be exiting from the Singapore physical retail scene after 162 years. Read more>>

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