Homeowners slash prices after Hong Kong burns on National Day
Panic selling leads Mingtiandi’s roundup of Asia real estate headlines today as desperate homeowners in Hong Kong are said to be slashing prices by up to 20 percent to attract buyers amid the Asian financial hub’s growing protests. While the news for homeowners looks grim, shop landlords also face a difficult future after retailers experienced a 23 percent drop in sales during August.
In other news around the region, while Masayoshi Son’s WeWork business may be cutting back its operation in mainland China, the Japanese investment guru’s Softbank has teamed up with an Indian hotel chain from its portfolio to spend over $100 million to buy a Japanese apartment business.
Meanwhile the world’s biggest asset manager is said to be holding talks with Tencent about a China tie-up, and a US investment brokerage has completed a management buyout backed by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings.
Hong Kong Homeowners Slash Prices after National Day Violence
There are signs of further softening in Hong Kong’s property market. Homeowners are slashing prices by more than 20 per cent as buyers are reluctant to commit to big purchases and banks reduce the valuation of properties amid increasingly violent protests.
“[Homeowners] want to cash in and think holding cash would be safer,” said Fanny Chiu, chief senior sales manager at Hong Kong Property (Services), adding that Tuesday’s violence had “definitely” prompted sellers to slash prices. Read more>>
WeWork Said Mulling Cuts in China Footprint Amid Austerity Drive
We Co.’s new management team is considering reining in aggressive expansion plans in China as part of the company’s new emphasis on controlling costs, people familiar with the matter say.
WeWork’s parent company has moved forcefully to win business in the country, but like a number of other U.S. startups it has struggled to make money there. Read more>>
Softbank, Oyo JV Pays Over $100M to Buys Japanese Apartment Operator
SoftBank Group and Indian hotel startup Oyo have jointly acquired an 80 percent stake in Japanese rental apartment operator MDI.
The acquisition cost over $100 million, according to a person familiar with the deal. Oyo confirmed the transaction but declined to comment on either the price or its stake in the joint venture set up to acquire MDI. SoftBank and MDI also declined to comment. Read more>>
BlackRock Eyeing China Tie-up with Tencent
BlackRock has held talks over the past year with Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings, as the world’s largest money manager explores ways to strengthen its foothold in China, according to people familiar with the matter.
The preliminary discussions with Tencent have been about how to make BlackRock’s tools and models for building investment portfolios broadly available to the Chinese market, the people said. Read more>>
Eastdil Completes Temasek-based Management Buyout
Eastdil Secured has completed its management-led recapitalization with Temasek and certain institutional clients of Guggenheim Investments taking stakes in the company. Wells Fargo has retained a minority ownership interest in the real estate investment banking company.
The deal valued the firm at more than $400 million, according to the Wall Street Journal, and allows employees to eventually own more than 40 percent of the equity. Read more>>
Hong Kong Retail Sales Dive 23% in August
Hong Kong’s August retail sales fell 23 percent from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday, amid escalating anti-government protests that have gripped the Chinese-ruled city for nearly four months.
Retail sales fell to HK$29.4 billion ($3.75 billion) in August, a seventh consecutive month of decline. July’s drop was 11.4 percent. Read more>>
Frasers Increases Stake in PGIM Asia Retail Fund to 88%
Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) has increased its stake in PGIM Real Estate Asiaretail Fund Limited to just under 25 percent from 21 percent previously.
Meanwhile, Frasers Property Limited (FPL) has also increased its stake in the fund to 63 percent from 54 percent. This brings the total combined ownership of FCT and FPL to just under 88 percent. Read more>>
Retail Vacancies Rise in Seoul
The amount of empty retail space in downtown Seoul areas is soaring as an increasing number of beleaguered small-scale shop owners there are going out of business amid the slowing economy, according to government data.
The data, released by Rep. Song Seog-jun of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, showed that major business districts in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam area have been suffering from a growing vacancy rate over the past two years. Read more>>
Tune in again tomorrow for more news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.
Leave a Reply