$98M Singapore Bungalow Buy Linked to Hillhouse Boss and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Two adjoining bungalows on Singapore’s Belmont Road change hands for a total of $97.8 million, with that story leading Mingtiandi’s headline roundup today. Also making the list, the People’s Bank of China cuts a key interest rate and Singapore-listed CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust faces calls from buyers to lower its asking price for 21 Collyer Quay.

$98M Singapore Bungalow Buy Linked to Hillhouse’s Zhang Lei

Two adjoining freehold bungalows on Singapore’s Belmont Road, off Holland Road, have changed hands for a total of S$131.4 million ($97.8 million). The price works out to S$3,000 per square foot on land area for both houses.

Located within the Belmont Park good-class bungalow area, the properties were sold in separate transactions, by a pair of doctor siblings. Read more>>

China Makes Surprise Rate Cut as Real Estate Sector Struggles

China’s central bank took new steps to shore up the country’s sputtering economy, highlighting officials’ growing anxiety about growth only days after leader Xi Jinping set out his long-term vision to transform China into a technological powerhouse to rival the US.

The People’s Bank of China said Thursday that it cut a key interest rate and pumped the equivalent of more than $25 billion into China’s banking system. The move caught investors by surprise, as it occurred outside the usual sequence for policy shifts in the PBOC’s complex collection of interest rates and other tools. Read more>>

Buyers Reported to Make Lowball Offers for Singapore’s 21 Collyer Quay

Singapore’s CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust is facing calls from buyers to lower its asking price for a prime office tower, in a sign of mounting pressure for discounts on commercial assets in the city state.

The REIT, the largest by market value in the Asian financial hub, has put 21 Collyer Quay in the city centre up for sale, people familiar with the matter said. Read more>>

Director of Shanghai’s Greenland Group Under Investigation in China

Hu Xin, director of Chinese developer Greenland Holdings, is being investigated by Shanghai’s top anti-corruption watchdog.

Hu, who is also vice chairman of Greenland, is under disciplinary review and supervisory investigation by the Shanghai Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection on suspicion of serious violations of discipline and law, the company announced Tuesday. Read more>>

Mandarin Oriental Hotels Shrinks H1 Loss to $52M

Mandarin Oriental saw its net loss narrow to $52 million for the six months ended 30 June from $69.2 million in the year-earlier period, based on a Wednesday night bourse filing.

Group revenue per available room was up 5 percent year-on-year, with positive growth charted in all regions, said the hotel investment and management group. This was driven by both occupancy and rates in Asia, continued strength in leisure demand and occupancy in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and growth in corporate occupancy in the US. Read more>>

Hong Kong Grocery Chain Starts Strategic Review as Sales Slump

The operator of grocery chain 759 Store in Hong Kong is freezing major investment plans and reviewing tenancy agreements for its 165 outlets, after the company swung to an annual net loss of HK$29.8 million ($3.8 million) in the year to 30 April.

CEC International Holdings’ revenue in the financial year fell 13 percent year-on-year to HK$1.47 billion, according to its filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday night. In 2023, the company recorded a net income of HK$49.56 million. Read more>>

Singapore’s Oxley Denies Reports Linking Chairman to Italian Graft Probe

Oxley Holdings says that the allegations against executive chairman and CEO Ching Chiat Kwong published in three news reports in July are unfounded and untrue. The reports allege that the mayor of Venice, in Italy, is under investigation and that Ching is involved in the matter.

“(Mr Ching) has engaged lawyers to advise him in the matter. No charges have been brought against Mr Ching by the Venice Public Prosecutor’s Office,” Oxley said. Read more>>

Singapore Secondary Home Sales Fell 30% in June

Condo resale volume in Singapore fell in June, while resale prices posted mixed performances.

Flash data from SRX and 99.co released Thursday showed that resale volume decreased 29.9 percent from May and 5.2 percent year-on-year. Some 809 units changed hands in June, down from the 1,153 units resold in May. Read more>>