Mitsubishi Heavy Ind Sells Yokohama Building for $688M and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

With this week’s combined Easter, Passover and Songkran holiday much of the region went quiet over the weekend, but Japan kept things moving with a central Yokohama building selling for nearly $700 million, while Ascott’s residential trust sold off stakes in 18 Tokyo properties for $109 million. Plus, more market curbs on the mainland, and much more if you just keep reading.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sells Yokohama Building for $688M

On March 30, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries announced the sale of their Yokohama Building for 76.1 billion Yen (approx. 688 million USD) to HULIC and KRF.

The sale included the 33-story office building and the 20,000 sqm block of land. The adjoining house exhibition showground on the north-west side of the office tower was included as part of the sale.  Mitsubishi will continue to occupy the building as the main tenant. Read more>>

Ascott Trust Selling Interests in 18 Tokyo Properties for $109M

Ascott Residence Trust (ART), through its wholly owned subsidiary Zenith Residences Tokyo Tokutei Mokuteki Kaisha (Zenith TMK), has agreed to divest its trust beneficiary interests (TBI) of 18 rental housing properties under Zenith TMK’s portfolio in Tokyo, Japan, for 12 billion yen (approximately S$153.6 million) to Nikko Zenith GK9.

The properties’ apartment units range from 12 units for Zesty Akebonobashi, to 76 units for Gala Hachimanyamai I. Read more>>

Antony Leung-Led Group Plans RMB 1B in Guangdong Health Facilities

An investment group led by former Hong Kong finance minister Antony Leung Kam-chung will pump at least 1 billion yuan (HK$1.13 billion) into a Shenzhen-based medical group as a pioneering move to participate in the Greater Bay Area plan, an integration scheme with cities in the Pearl River Delta.

New Frontier, a Hong Kong and Shanghai-based investment firm, in which Nan Fung Group is a substantial investor, will become the major shareholder in Best Unimed Medical Group. Leung is co-founder and chairman of New Frontier. Read more>>

Chengdu Bars Buyers From Selling Homes for Three Years

The capital of China’s Sichuan province on Wednesday joined more than 10 other cities in seeking to cool a sizzling property market by imposing a years-long minimum time before a buyer can resell a home.

Chengdu’s housing authority said in a notice on its website that effective on Thursday, newly bought homes cannot be sold again for at least three years. Read more>>

PCCW Connects With Keppel Data Centres for HK Initiative

PCCW Global and Keppel Data Centres have launched an Internet exchange in Hong Kong to provide faster interconnects for businesses in the region.

PCCW Global is the international operating division of HKT, the largest telecommunications company in Hong Kong, while Keppel Data Centres is a joint venture between Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation Ltd (Keppel T&T) and Keppel Land Limited. Keppel Data Centres has built data centers in Singapore, and operates them through an arrangement with Keppel DC Reit. Read more>>

Beijing to Pimp Out Xiongan with China’s 1^st 5G Network

China’s leading telecom operators have promised to roll out their next-generation 5G network in the Xiongan New Area, the recently announced economic powerhouse near Beijing, as more infrastructure projects, including an airport terminal, are set to follow.

The decision comes just 10 days after the central government announced surprise plans to create the Xiongan New Area, 130 kilometers south of Beijing, to relieve pressure on the capital’s infrastructure. Read more>>

Mainland Cracks Down on Loans Backed By Commercial Title Apartments

Some Chinese banks have halted lending to individual borrowers planning to use apartments built on commercial or office landas collateral, and dropped preferential interest rates for first-time home buyers, according to banking sources.

Making such apartments ineligible as collateral – further squeezing the value of the previously popular product after banning its sale to individuals – is the latest move in a series of efforts to crack down on their demand, and meet the China banking regulator’s call to stem property-related financial risk. Read more>>

Poly Hong Kong Project Falls Flat as Buyers Get Cautious

It seems that Hong Kong property buyers may have their limits after all.

Poly Property Group’s latest batch of apartments in Kai Tak saw disappointing sales on Friday, with just 26 of the 93 new units at Vibe Centro finding buyers between 10am and 7.30pm. Read more>>

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