The Star Sydney complex found a buyer for its event centre (Getty Images)
Cash-strapped Aussie casino operator Star offloads an event centre in Sydney, with that divestment leading today’s headline roundup. Also making news, S&P tracks a surge in Japan’s private equity and venture capital deals and Mori Building opens a central Tokyo retail precinct.
Star Entertainment Sells Sydney Asset for $37M
Troubled casino group Star Entertainment says it has sold its Sydney event centre as it attempts to rake in enough cash to avoid a financial collapse. Star told the ASX it will offload its Sydney Event Centre to Foundation Theatres for A$60 million ($37.4 million) in a deal that includes additional spaces within The Star Sydney complex.
Star has been in a desperate bid to raise cash after revealing that it had burned through more than A$100 million in the final three months of last year. It warned earlier this month that it may not have enough funds to continue as a going concern. Read more>>
Value of Japanese Private Equity, Venture Capital Deals Jumps 41%
Japan’s share of all private equity and venture capital investments in Asia Pacific grew in 2024 as the value of private equity deals targeting Japanese companies surged.
The value of investment backed by private equity and venture capital in Japan rose 40.8 percent to $17.9 billion in 2024, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. The amount was equal to 15.6 percent of all private equity and venture capital investments in Asia Pacific in 2024, a share that grew from 10.6 percent in 2023. Read more>>
Mori Building Opens Retail Complex at Tokyo’s Toranomon Hills
Japanese developer Mori Building will open seven stores spanning 2,700 square metres (29,063 square feet) at the Toranomon Hills Glass Rock building between 31 January and 9 April.
Toranomon Hills is a new transport hub in central Tokyo comprising a large station square developed in conjunction with the Loop 2 road, a large bus terminal and Toranomon Hills station on the Tokyo Metro’s Hibiya Line. Read more>>
Mitsubishi Estate Sets Up $65M Bengaluru JV With Aditya Birla
Indian developer Aditya Birla Real Estate Ltd (formerly Century Textiles and Industries) last Friday said its wholly owned subsidiary Birla Estates Private Ltd had entered into a joint venture with Japan’s Mitsubishi Estate.
The partnership entails a INR 5.6 billion ($65 million) investment in a residential housing development project in southeast Bengaluru. Under the partnership, BEPL and Mitsubishi Estate will hold 51:49 economic interest. The JV will lead the development of the premium residential project, which spans 4 million square feet (371,612 square metres) of built-up area. Read more>>
China Vanke Changes Seen Signalling State Bailout
China Vanke has been thrown a lifeline by state authorities, a rare show of support that signals the developer may be too big to fail even after dozens of property firms defaulted amid China’s punishing housing slump.
As part of an overhaul unveiled late Monday, Vanke’s two top veteran executives stepped down after the company warned of a record $6.2 billion loss. An official from Shenzhen Metro, its largest state shareholder, will take over as chair. Shortly after the surprise announcement, local and state governments in Vanke’s home base of Shenzhen vowed to “proactively support” its operations through state media. Read more>>
Singapore Data Centre REITs Fall on DeepSeek Threat
Analysts warned that companies in the artificial intelligence ecosystem, including in Singapore, could be hit after the rise of Chinese AI firm DeepSeek caused a meltdown in US tech stocks.
Nvidia on Monday suffered a wipeout of nearly $600 billion in its market value — the most for any stock ever on Wall Street. Data centre REITs in Singapore also fell Monday amid the saga surrounding DeepSeek. Read more>>
Hong Kong Mortgages Fell 21% in December
Hong Kong’s mortgage applications fell by more than a fifth in December, according to the city’s de facto central bank, in a sign of cautiousness among homebuyers amid geopolitical uncertainties and higher interest rates.
Mortgages shrank by 21.1 percent last month to 6,306 from November, the first monthly drop since September, which saw 15.9 percent lower demand, according to a statement by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Read more>>
New South Wales Seen Taking Over as Aussie BTR Investment Hub
While Victoria continues to be the place for build-to-rent investors, NSW has ramped up its pipeline to overtake Queensland and will attract more investment this year, according to a report.
About 8,900 dedicated BTR apartments are under construction in Australia, according to Knight Frank, and a further 20,000 units have been approved for development over the next five years. Sydney is expected to move into the limelight this year, as investors who had built up a Melbourne-centric portfolio seek a presence across the eastern seaboard. Read more>>
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