CapitaLand Tops APAC Fund Managers With $55.9B AUM and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Singapore leads the way in our roundup of what’s hot in Asia real estate news today as the tropical city-state’s biggest developer again leads a list of the region’s biggest real estate fund managers with some $55.9 billion of assets under management.

In other news around the region, Blackstone’s India REIT partner is selling its 50 percent stake in a $288 million special economic zone development, while a logistics giant is spicing up its portfolio by acquiring 90 acres of industrial park 40 kilometres outside of Mumbai.

Elsewhere, bicyclists get an indoor track at a new S$560 million Singapore mall, and a Hong Kong real estate matriarch loses the upper hand in a family feud.

CapitaLand’s $55.9B AUM Most in Asia Pacific

Singapore-listed CapitaLand has the biggest real estate assets under management (AUM) in the Asia-Pacific even as the region moved to grab a larger share of the global pie.

Asia-Pacific (APAC) recorded $588.8 billion in total real estate AUM in 2018, accounting for 18.4 percent of $3.2 trillion real estate AUM globally, up from 16.9 percent in 2017,  according to a fund manager survey by three real estate industry associations. Read more>>

Blackstone-linked JV Sells 50% Stake in $288M Hyderbad Portfolio

Real estate company Phoenix Group has bought back a 50 percent stake in three special economic zones (SEZs) located in Hyderabad from the Embassy Group for an undisclosed amount. The total investment in these projects is expected to be around Rs 2,000 crore ($288 million) over the next five years.

The projects, of about 10 million square feet, were part of a joint venture between the Embassy Group and Hyderabad’s Phoenix. Phoenix plans to develop and finance these projects after Embassy’s exit. Read more>>

Warburg Pincus-backed ESR in 90-acre India Warehouse Deal

Warburg Pincus-backed logistics developer e-Shang Redwood (ESR) is in the process of signing a joint development agreement with Lodha Group for an industrial park at the latter’s township project Palava, Maharashtra state, sources said. The luxury homes maker, Lodha Group, had last year announced its foray into the warehousing space with a 150-acre facility in its mega township project ‘Palava’ coming up in Dombivli in the neighbouring Thane district.

According to sources, ESR is likely to enter into a joint development agreement with Lodha for 90-acre of space in the Grade A warehousing industrial park, which will offer a floor space index of one. Both Lodha and ESR refused to comment on the proposed deal. Read more>>

Softbank-backed OYO Claims Says It’s China’s 2nd Biggest Hotel Group

OYO Hotels and Homes is now the second-largest hotel group in China, having entered the world’s second-largest economy barely 18 months ago, as per a statement released by the company on Wednesday.

OYO Jiudian, the Chinese subsidiary of the SoftBank-backed hospitality chain, said it is now present in 320 cities, and has about 10,000 hotels and 450,000 rooms under management, according to a company-issued statement, surpassing its peers in the country, such as Home Inn and Hanting, among others. Read more>>

Great Eagle Matriarch Loses Fight to Stop Children Gaining Control of Family Conglomerate

A Hong Kong court on Wednesday ruled against the matriarch of Great Eagle, one of the city’s richest real estate clans, in her bid to prevent some of her children from taking control of the family conglomerate.

The Court of First Instance ruled against Lo To Lee-kwan, 99, who launched the legal action in 2016 against HSBC International Trustee, manager of a family trust that held the majority shares in the Hong Kong-listed Great Eagle Holdings. Read more>>

Capitaland Unveils S$560M Bicycle-friendly Co-living Mall Revamp

The revamped complex will feature a 200m indoor cycling path that runs through and around it, making it the first in Singapore to offer cyclists and personal mobility device users such access.

To make things more interesting, LED light strips on the cycling path, activated by ceiling motion detector cameras, will light up whenever there is movement on the path. Read more>>

Fire Sales by HNA and Anbang Not Offering Much to Bargain-hunters

You might think the trophy real-estate assets of distressed Chinese conglomerates would go at fire-sale prices. The latest deals show that’s not the case.

The U.S. luxury hotel collection of Anbang Insurance Group Co. is a prime example. The once-sprawling Chinese company, which Beijing rescued early last year, is close to selling a suite of properties it bought for $5.5 billion three years ago. Read more>>

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