Mercedes-Benz Selling Back Singapore Shed and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz is selling a Singapore facility back to the government, with that deal leading today’s headline roundup. Also making the list, Chinese builder Hopson seeks to refinance a bridge loan and Hong Kong cuts interest rates in step with the US central bank.

Mercedes-Benz Selling Tuas Logistics Facility Back to Singapore JTC

Mercedes-Benz Singapore is selling the balance lease of its property at 301 Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim to JTC Corporation. JTC is paying S$46.2 million ($34.9 million) to buy back the balance lease term of 16 years and five months for the 403,401 square foot (37,477 square metre) site and the two-storey logistics building on it.

The property has significant redevelopment potential. The existing gross floor area is 459,278 square feet but can be expanded by 105,483 square feet. The maximum allowable space is 564,761 square feet, based on the 1.4 plot ratio for the site, which is zoned as Business 2 under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s latest Master Plan. Read more>>

Hopson in Talks With Temasek’s Seatown to Refinance $100M Bridge Loan

Chinese builder Hopson Development Holdings is in talks for a new private loan to refinance an expired bridge facility that backed the purchase of some property in Hong Kong, according to people familiar with the matter.

Discussions for the new loan with Seatown Holdings, a subsidiary of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, are ongoing, the people said. Earlier this year, Hopson, whose projects include high-end residential and commercial properties in Beijing and Guangzhou, received a four-month bridge loan of around $100 million to $115 million from Seatown. Read more>>

Hong Kong Cuts Rates in Step With US Fed

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority cut its base interest rate after the US Federal Reserve eased policy, in a move that should support an economy struggling with weak spending.

The HKMA lowered rates by a quarter percentage point to 5 percent on Friday, following the Fed in lockstep as the city has a currency peg to the greenback. Read more>>

Daiwa House Singapore REIT Posts 5.5% Drop in Distributable Income

The manager of Singapore-listed Daiwa House Logistics Trust recorded distributable income of S$25.5 million ($19.3 million) for the first nine months of 2024, down 5.5 percent year-on-year.

The decline was largely due to currency fluctuations, as the average exchange rate for the Japanese yen against the Singapore dollar was about 8 percent weaker in the nine-month period versus a year earlier. Read more>>

SingHaiyi Singapore Project Sells 10% of Condo Units in Preview

The mixed-use development One Sophia has sold 35 residential units — out of 367 available — at an average price of S$2,750 ($2,082) per square foot since its preview sale launched Wednesday. All unit types were sold, with the bulk of the sales for studio and two-bedroom units, said developer SingHaiyi.

The sales were made in a generally muted market for new homes in Singapore’s prime Core Central Region. Read more>>

United Hampshire US REIT Distributable Income Falls 14.6%

United Hampshire US REIT’s distributable income for the third quarter fell 14.6 percent year-on-year to $6 million.

The Singapore-listed trust’s net property income fell 6.7 percent to $12 million as revenue slipped 2.9 percent to $17.9 million. Read more>>

Sasseur REIT Rental Income Dipped in Q3

Sasseur REIT’s rental income under its entrusted management agreement model during the third quarter fell 2 percent year-on-year to RMB 158.6 million ($22.2 million).

Rental income in Singapore-dollar terms fell 3.6 percent because of RMB depreciation against the Singapore dollar, the SGX-listed trust’s manager said Friday. Read more>>

China Expected to Announce Fresh Stimulus Package

China is widely expected to unveil more stimulus Friday after its parliament ends a five-day meeting.

Authorities have ramped up stimulus announcements since late September, fuelling a stock rally. President Xi Jinping led a meeting on 26 September that called for strengthening fiscal and monetary support and stopping the real estate market slump. While the People’s Bank of China has already cut several interest rates, major increases in government debt and spending require approval by the country’s parliament, called the National People’s Congress. Read more>>

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