GIP May Join DigitalBridge Bid in $13B Airtrunk Sale and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

A US investment giant leads Mingtiandi’s headline roundup today as Global Infrastructure Partners considers joining DigitalBridge in a bid for $13 billion data centre platform AirTrunk. Also in the news, Country Garden’s liquidation hearing is postponed to January and Prada rents a store at New World Development’s harbourfront shopping mall.

GIP Said in Talks to Join DigitalBridge Bid in $13B Airtrunk Sale

Global Infrastructure Partners is considering abandoning its solo bid for A$20 billion ($13 billion) data centre giant AirTrunk, as it considers whether it’s better off joining forces with a rival consortium spearheaded by IFM Investors and NYSE-listed DigitalBridge.

The resurrected sale, being run by Morgan Stanley, is fielding interest from financial sponsors, but not many trade players are in the mix. GIP’s dealmakers, including New Yorker Will Brilliant and local Rob Stewart, have all but agreed to join the swelling consortium, according to sources. Read more>>

Country Garden Liquidation Hearing Postponed Until January

A Hong Kong court on Monday adjourned a hearing into a petition seeking liquidation of Country Garden until 20 January 2025, giving a breather to the embattled Chinese developer as it tries to finalise an offshore debt revamp plan.

Ever Credit Ltd, a unit of Hong Kong-listed Kingboard Holdings, filed the liquidation petition against Country Garden in February for non-payment of a $205 million loan. Read more>>

Prada to Open Harbourfront Hong Kong Store After Years of Downsizing

Prada is renting an 8,000 square foot (743 square metre) store at K11 Musea, a harbourfront luxury shopping mall by New World Development, people familiar with the matter said.

Construction work for the two-floor store will begin soon and it’s expected to open early next year, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. Rent is likely to be partly based on store sales, some of the people said. Read more>>

Beijing Office Market Suffers as Occupiers Flee, Downsize

Beijing’s office market is reeling from the departure of large state-owned enterprises and tech giants from the city centre, causing rents to decline as much as 30 percent from year-ago levels, according to market observers.

The slump is likely to persist, as the relocation of large office occupiers, aimed at reducing Beijing’s “noncore” functions, has freed up significant commercial real estate, they said. Read more>>

DLF-GIC India Office JV Sees Rental Income Rise 

Indian realty firm DLF’s rental arm DCCDL posted an 11 percent annual increase in office rental income to INR 9.42 billion ($112.4 million) during the first quarter of this fiscal year on better demand for its premium workspace.

DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd is a joint venture of DLF and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC. Read more>>

Equinix Acquires Data Centre Site in Malaysia’s Cyberjaya

Equinix has acquired land in the Cyberjaya tech hub to expand its data centre capacity in Malaysia.

The co-location provider said Monday that it had invested MYR 23 million ($4.9 million) in acquiring land in Cyberjaya, south of Kuala Lumpur, from local developer Cyberview. Read more>>

Hong Kong Second-Hand Home Prices Drop to Lowest Since 2016

The prices of Hong Kong’s lived-in homes fell to the lowest in eight years while rental charges rose amid record mortgage rates, as the buying momentum ran out after February’s removal of a stamp duty.

The home price index dropped by 1.2 percent to 301.8 in June from a month earlier, the lowest level since the 304.3 reading reported by the Rating and Valuation Department in October 2016. The result brought the decline of second-hand homes to 3.1 percent in the first six months of the year. Read more>>

Aussie Developers, Community Groups Join Forces to Lobby Govt on BTR

A powerful coalition of the peak property body and community housing organisations has joined forces in an effort to break the logjam holding back the nation’s build-to-rent industry, saying they would spur the development of 105,000 new homes.

The rising sector has the potential to become a key part of the solution to the country’s worsening housing crisis, but uncertainty over new laws which would apply to the area has held back investment and could leave existing projects stranded. Read more>>