CK Asset Bid for Hong Kong Project Rejected and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Hong Kong builder CK Asset’s bid for a Kowloon commercial site gets shot down by authorities, with that setback leading today’s headline roundup. Also making news, China Vanke reports another massive quarterly loss and CapitaLand Ascott Trust posts an 8 percent profit jump.

Hong Kong Commercial Site Tender Cancelled After CK Enters Sole Bid

Hong Kong’s failure to sell a commercial site in Kowloon City this week represents a twin blow to the property market. The lone bid from CK Asset Holdings showed that developers remained guarded on the outlook, derailing the government’s renewal efforts in the area.

The Urban Renewal Authority on Tuesday rejected the joint venture offer from CK Asset, the developer controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, for a site on Kai Tak Road/Sa Po Road. The bid contained additional terms that deviated from the development plan, the URA said. Read more>>

China Vanke Suffers $1.1B Third-Quarter Loss

China Vanke posted another massive loss in the third quarter, underscoring the pressure on the developer as it tries to pay off debt amid the country’s prolonged housing slump.

Shenzhen-based Vanke reported a net loss of RMB 8.1 billion ($1.1 billion), bringing its combined losses for the first nine months of the year to RMB 17.9 billion, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday. Read more>>

CapitaLand Ascott Trust Reports 8% Jump in Gross Profit

Singapore-listed CapitaLand Ascott Trust’s gross profit rose 8 percent year-on-year in the third fiscal quarter to the end of September.

On Wednesday, the lodging trust’s managers attributed the stronger top-line performance to portfolio reconstitution initiatives and better operating performance. This came as acquisitions, completed asset enhancement initiatives and interest savings from repayment of higher-interest debts with divestment proceeds helped to mitigate the impact of income lost through divestments and ongoing AEIs. Read more>>

Singapore Developers Ready to Launch 3,551 Homes in November

A slew of new Singapore condo projects are set to be launched in the next few weeks, with developers pushing out projects to catch the wave of rising sentiment ahead of the year-end holiday season.

Six projects, with 3,551 units among them, will be booking sales in November, in an extraordinary crush of new launches in a single month. All will be starting previews this weekend. Read more>>

ESR-Logos REIT Reports 6.5% Dip in Income

ESR-Logos REIT posted a 6.5 percent year-on-year decline in third-quarter net property income to S$192.7 million ($145.7 million), the Singapore-listed trust’s manager said Wednesday.

Gross revenue fell 6.3 percent year-on-year to S$272.5 million for the three months to the end of September. Read more>>

CapitaLand China Trust Income Slides 5.1% as Revenue Falls

Singapore-listed CapitaLand China Trust reported net property income of RMB 930.2 million ($130.6 million) for the nine months to the end of September, down 5.1 percent year-on-year.

The result came amid lower contributions from the REIT’s logistics and business park portfolios and exited malls, CLCT’s manager said in a Wednesday business update. Read more>>

Hong Kong’s Ageing Commercial Districts Lag Green Building Trend

A lack of green offices is posing a fresh risk to Hong Kong’s beleaguered property sector amid a slump that’s already wiped billions of dollars from real estate values.

Faced with record vacancy rates and dwindling revenues, developers are reluctant to invest in expensive building upgrades to boost climate credentials and are as a result falling behind competing financial centres across Asia — just as demand picks up for more sustainable office space. Read more>>

Vietnam’s Novaland Reports Profit Rebound in Q3

Vietnam developer Novaland reported an after-tax profit of VND 2.95 trillion ($166.6 million) in the third quarter of this year, representing a 21.6-fold year-on-year rise.

The increase was driven by a surge in financial revenue that previously had been excluded by auditors. Novaland, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange as NVL, said revenue doubled year-on-year in Q3 to VND 2.01 trillion and gross profit surged 60 percent to VND 545 billion. Read more>>

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