ARA US Hospitality Trust Buys US Hotels for $48M and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, Singapore-listed ARA US Hospitality Trust acquires a pair of North Carolina hotels, sovereign wealth fund GIC awaits a windfall of foreign currency reserves after a rule change, and Google is buying a London office building it occupies for $1 billion.

ARA US Hospitality Trust Buys Pair of North Carolina Hotels for $48M 

A North Carolina hospitality firm recently sold two hotels to Singapore-listed ARA US Hospitality Trust.

Concord Hospitality Enterprises sold a pair of Marriott-branded hotels to businesses affiliated with the trust in a deal totalling $48 million. The Residence Inn Durham McPherson/Duke University was sold for $33.9 million, and the Courtyard Raleigh North/Triangle Town Center changed hands for $14.4 million. Read more>>

Singapore’s GIC Set to Manage Extra $185B in Reserves

Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC is poised to get a massive influx of new funds to manage after the city-state changed the way the central bank transfers excess foreign currency reserves to the fund.

Parliament on Tuesday passed a bill allowing the Monetary Authority of Singapore to buy a new type of non-marketable security issued by the government, known as reserves management government securities. Read more>>

Google Buying London Office Building From Mitsubishi Estate JV for $1B

Google is buying the 15-storey Central Saint Giles development in central London where it has some of its UK offices for £730m ($1 billion).

The tech giant, which already rents about 40 percent of the Renzo Piano-designed building near Oxford Street, has agreed a deal to buy the development from Legal & General Group and Mitsubishi Estate. Read more>>

Evergrande Bondholders Agree to Defer Payments on Onshore Bond

China Evergrande Group’s bondholders approved its plea to defer paying on a renminbi-denominated bond, giving the world’s most indebted property developer breathing room to pare its debt and avert its first default on an onshore financial instrument.

Investors holding more than 72.3 percent of the principal of a RMB 4.5 billion ($708 million) onshore bond due in January 2023 agreed to extend the 8 January redemption and coupon payment deadline by six months, according to a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange by Evergrande’s Hengda Real Estate Group unit. Read more>>

Evergrande Electric SUV Rolls Off Assembly Line After Much Delay

China Evergrande Group’s first electric vehicle rolled off the assembly line on Wednesday, an important step for the world’s most indebted property developer as it doubled down on its biggest cash-burning bet to transform itself.

The Hengchi 5 all-electric compact SUV, with a driving range of about 700 kilometres (435 miles) on a single charge, is ready for delivery after coming off the assembly line in Tianjin, Evergrande New Energy Vehicle said. Read more>>

Property Buying Frenzy Cools in Shenzhen

The chill sweeping through China’s housing market is being felt in Shenzhen. There are few takers for houses in the once red-hot market, with buyers watching from the sidelines since the start of this year.

The 353-unit Shangjing, the year’s first launch on 2 January, has been the biggest flop. The developer Anhui Anlian Express has sold only one home in the project in the city’s southwestern Guangming district in the past two weeks, according to agents tracking new-home sales. Read more>>

China Property Chaos Paves Way for State Dominance

For any government, overhauling a nationwide residential real estate market would be risky under the best of circumstances. Chinese President Xi Jinping is attempting it at a time when the economy is slowing, omicron is threatening his zero-COVID policy and relations with the outside world are increasingly fraught.

As that perilous combination takes a growing toll on Chinese financial markets, one question keeps popping up: What is Xi’s endgame? Read more>>>

China Banks Curb Property Loans to Local Government Firms

Several of China’s largest banks have become more selective about funding real estate projects by local government financing vehicles, concerned that some are taking on too much risk after they replaced private developers as key buyers of land, people familiar with the matter said.

At least five state-run banks have imposed new restrictions this year on loans to weaker LGFVs and state-owned firms seeking to buy land and develop new real estate projects, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. Banks are being more stringent in assessing the financial strength of the local economy and the sales prospects of the projects, the people added. Read more>>

Kowloon Luxury Homes on the Market for $128M

The recent trend of Hong Kong’s luxury home prices setting one record after another is tempting some owners to cash in while the going is good.

A basket of five properties at The Arch near Kowloon MTR station, with an indicative price of HK$1 billion ($128.34 million), is the latest to go on the market. Read more>>

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