There might be a fresh half-floor available for companies coveting the IFC’s harbourfront views
In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, a US fund manager ramps up its presence in Hong Kong’s Central, a hotel collapse in Suzhou claims eight lives, and Singapore’s condo resale volume dips.
Also in the news, institutional investors are venturing back into the Hong Kong market after taking a year off and Singapore’s Eagle Hospitality Trust wins court approval to bid bon voyage to its Queen Mary property.
US Fund Manager Lexington Upsizes into Hong Kong’s IFC
Lexington Partners, a New York-based manager of secondary private equity funds, is moving into one of Hong Kong’s tallest office towers as it scooped up prime commercial real estate left vacant in the world’s most expensive city.
The fund has taken up the units 2903 through 2909, totalling 8,900 square feet (827 square metres) at the Two IFC office tower in Hong Kong’s Central business district. The fund’s office had been at York House at Landmark in Central for the past 10 years, a company spokesman said. Read more>>
8 Killed in Suzhou Hotel Collapse
Part of a hotel collapsed in the Chinese city of Suzhou on Monday, killing eight people and leaving rescue workers searching for nine others who are still missing in the ruins, according to the local government.
The collapse of a section of the Siji Kaiyuan Hotel in coastal Jiangsu province happened on Monday afternoon, the Suzhou Municipal Government said. According to state-run media, the Ministry of Emergency Management sent a team to help with the rescue work. Read more>>
EHT Unit Gets Court Nod to Cut Loose the Queen Mary
Urban Commons Queensway, a unit of embattled Eagle Hospitality Trust, has been granted approval by a US bankruptcy court to reject the lease and operational agreements to the Queen Mary property on 7 July, DBS Trustee announced in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.
The Queen Mary property is a former ocean vessel turned floating hotel that was surrendered by UCQ to the city of Long Beach, California on 4 June. Read more>>
Institutional Investment in HK Real Estate Rose 190% in Q2
Institutional investment has returned to the Hong Kong real estate market, which has reached a turning point, according to Colliers.
Renewed confidence from a solid economic recovery and easing of coronavirus infections has led to increased investment transactions. Deal value reached HK$25.5 billion ($3.3 billion) in the second quarter, rising 168 percent from the prior quarter and 190 percent from a year earlier. Read more>>
Singapore Condo Resale Deals Fell More Than 12% in June
Resale prices for non-landed private homes grew at a slower pace in June as the number of transactions fell for the second straight month amid tighter COVID-19 measures.
Condominium resale prices edged up 0.1 percent on a monthly basis in June, easing from a 0.9 percent increase in May, according to flash data from real estate portal SRX released on Tuesday. Read more>>
Singapore Office Landlords Embrace Flexibility, Tech
Owners of Grade A office properties in Singapore are injecting more flexibility, tech innovation and refurbishments into their offerings, to vie for tenants seeking higher-quality spaces and agile workplace leasing.
Gone are the days of cubicles and rigid lease structures as the template. Cushman & Wakefield noted that available traditional office space will start to decline as landlords incorporate more flexible space into their buildings, either via direct lease or management agreements with co-working operators, or through the landlord’s own co-working brand. Read more>>
SPH REIT Distributions Up 11.3% in Q3 as Revenue Recovers
SPH REIT’s revenue and distribution rose in the third quarter ended 31 May, with distribution per unit for the quarter reaching pre-COVID levels.
Gross revenue for the nine months ended 31 May was up 22.2 percent year-on-year at S$209.6 million ($155 million now), according to a business update by the REIT after the market close on Monday. Read more>>
Tune in again soon for more real estate news and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.
Note: This story has been updated to show that Lexington Partners expanded their office in Hong Kong. An earlier version had indicated that the company was reducing its office space. Mingtiandi regrets the error.
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