Malaysia’s EPF Buys Mall in Poland for $352M and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Malaysia’s political transition dominated Asia’s political headlines earlier this month, and today the Southeast Asian nation is making waves with its real estate moves, as a government pension fund goes mall shopping in Poland, at the same time that the fund, along with a partner is looking to refinance London’s much-traded Battersea Power Station. Also in the news, India’s most valuable real estate firm is aiming to ramp up its portfolio of rent-yielding commercial space after taking a major investment from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund last year and there’s now blockchain hospitality venture in Singapore, while Microsoft is helping Keppel get smarter in Saigon, so read on for all the details.

Malaysia’s EPF Picks up Poland Mall for Estimated $352M

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has acquired a retail mall in Poland for almost RM1.4 billion ($352 million), a source from Britain told The Star. The fund had declined to say how much it paid for Galeria Katowicka and how much is the annual net yield of their investment, only saying via email that “this investment is expected to generate an attractive long-term yield for the investors.”

The mall is located in Katowice, 260 kilometres from Poland’s capital city Warsaw. The property has a gross floor area of 511,286 square feet and has direct access to the rail station and the underground bus terminal. Read more>>

Malaysian Owners of London’s Battersea Shop for £1.5B Loan

Two Malaysian state-backed funds that acquired London’s Battersea Power Station building are sounding out banks for a loan of about £1.5 billion (S$2.7 billion), people with knowledge of the matter said.

Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund and state-owned asset manager Permodalan Nasional are expected to hire banks shortly, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the process is private. Proceeds will be used to refinance existing borrowings and complete the purchase of commercial assets being developed as part of the Battersea Power Station project’s second phase, the people said. Read more>>

India’s DLF to Add Over 900,000 SQM of Commercial Space

DLF Ltd, India’s largest real estate firm by market value, is ramping up its rental portfolio with plans to build nearly 10 million square feet of commercial real estate in the next 5-7 years, post its stake sale in its rental arm to Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd last year to repay its debt.

The company, which has an outstanding debt of around Rs6,265 crore as of March end, said it is in line to achieve its target to be a “zero-debt firm” by end of the next financial year mainly through infusion of capital from promoters and issues of shares through qualified institutional placement (QIP). Read more>>

Singapore’s Hatten Land Forms Proptech JV with FundPlaces

Catalist-listed property developer Hatten Land and proptech start-up FundPlaces will form an 85:15 joint venture to operate a blockchain platform for hotels and malls.

Hatten Land said StayCay will be South-east Asia’s first hospitality blockchain platform. The platform will allow the Malaysia-headquartered company to issue “hotel tokens” that can be exchanged for discounted packages at the hotels managed by Hatten Land and major shareholder Hatten Group conglomerate. Read more>>

Small Indian Retailers Oppose Walmart Flipkart Deal

Walmart’s takeover of Flipkart for $16 billion has made global headlines. It is the largest takeover ever in India. It creates a new global strategy for Walmart, using e-commerce to combat Amazon. Many have welcomed the deal as a flag-bearer for more foreign direct investment.

However, small Indian retailers continue opposing Walmart’s entry. Leading the outcry has been Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), the economic wing of RSS, which has long opposed multinational corporations and rooted for national champions. The Confederation of All India Traders says it will ask the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to veto the deal, claiming it reduces competition. Read more>>

Keppel and Microsoft Bring Smart City Services to Saigon Project

Keppel Corporation can unlock potential from its new urban solutions unit (KUS) due to the growing demand for smart cities globally, CGS-CIMB analyst Lim Siew Khee said. KUS was set up in 2017 as an end-to-end integrated master developer of urban areas combining Keppel’s capabilities in energy, property, infrastructure, data centres, and connectivity to create smart precincts.

In Vietnam, Keppel Land is the key brick-and-mortar developer whilst KUS’ role in Saigon Sports City (SSC) is to collaborate with Microsoft to power the city with Azure, Microsoft’s cloud platform. The platform enables essential services, such as security and access control, remote monitoring and control of smart infrastructure as well as monitoring of community vitals, such as air quality. “SSC is expected to launch 618 and 720 units in 2018 and 2019, respectively, out of a total 4,284 homes planned,” Lim said. Read more>>

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