China’s property sales are predicted to drop in 2020
Plunging property sales lead the way in Mingtiandi’s roundup of Asia real estate headlines today with HSBC predicting a bleak 2020 for mainland China’s real estate market.
In other news around the region, a top office of a Singapore bakery chain has resigned after the company lost money in 2019, while home prices in the world’s least affordable city slipped again in December. Elsewhere, a major Hong Kong property developer is considering postponing the launch of a condo development amid a downturn in the housing market following the outbreak of the coronavirus.
HSBC Says Mainland China Property Sales Set to Plunge
HSBC expects property sales in the mainland to drop 10 percent year-on-year in 2020 as several cities have required developers to close sales offices and stop construction amid fears of the fast-spreading SARS-like coronavirus.
HSBC said the closure of sales offices will hamper housing demand and the suspension of construction will impact the developers’ cash flow, which increased uncertainties for the profit outlook of mainland developers this year. Read more>>
BreadTalk CFO Quits After SG Bakery Chain Posts 2019 Loss
BreadTalk Group on Friday said that Chan Ying Jian, who is both chief financial officer and chief investment officer of the group, has resigned. Mr Chan, 37, will leave BreadTalk on March 15 to pursue other career opportunities. He was appointed group CFO in June 2015, before assuming the additional role of group CIO in October 2019.
The mainboard-listed food and beverage player said that upon Mr Chan’s departure, executive chairman and founder George Quek will oversee the group’s accounting, financial, treasury and tax matters. Read more>>
OUE C-REIT Posts 12% Rise in Q4 DPU
OUE Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust has registered a distribution per unit (DPU) of S$0.84 ($0.61) for the fourth quarter, up 12 percent year-on-year.
Revenue surged over 80 percent to S$86.79 million, while net property income jumped nearly 93 percent to S$70.58 million on the back of a full quarter’s contribution of the merger with OUE Hospitality Trust as well as contribution from OUE Downtown Office, which was acquired on Nov 1, 2018. Read more>>
Hong Kong Home Prices Slip in December
Hong Kong private home prices eased again in December, weighed down by a gloomy economic outlook of the financial hub that was hit by a series of violent anti-government protests last year. The monthly price index, in one of the world’s least affordable property markets, declined 1.7% last month, compared with November’s revised 1.9% gain, government data showed on Friday.
Home prices in Hong Kong snapped a five-month decline in November, supported by a jump in small flat transactions after the government relaxed mortgage rules. Read more>>
Japan’s Mitsui Enters $1B India Real Estate JV
RMZ Corp and Japan’s Mitsui Fudosan have entered into a joint venture of up to $1 billion to set up commercial office spaces in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi. This is the Japanese company’s maiden investment in the Indian real estate market.
The companies will start by developing a 3.5 million sqft office property in Bengaluru’s Outer Ring Road, one of the most coveted micro markets in India and one which is dotted with multinationals, including JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, ANZ Bank, Cisco, Intel and Accenture. Read more>>
Virus Crisis Delays Launch of Wheelock’s Lohas Park
Hong Kong property developer Wheelock and Company said yesterday that it may delay the launch of its Lohas Park Phase 9C development as the city’s home transactions fell amid coronavirus fears, but said it is unlikely to affect pricing.
Wheelock will announce a time for the launch, which had originally been scheduled in the first quarter, when the atmosphere becomes “less tense,” executive director Ricky Wong said. Read more>>
Singapore’s QIP Secures Debt Financing For UK Student Housing Project
Singapore-based Q Investment Partners (QIP) and HG Developments Limited (HGD) have secured debt finance from UK development lender Maslow Capital for their purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) development in Edinburgh. The facility will be used to fund the purchase and development of a 198-bed PBSA scheme located opposite Meadowbank Stadium.
The facility will be used to fund the purchase and development of a 198-bed PBSA scheme located opposite Meadowbank Stadium. QIP and HGD bought the site in September from property developer Summix. Read more>>
Atari to Press Start On 8 Video-game Themed Hotels
Atari, the brand known for pioneering video games like Pong, Asteroids and RollerCoaster Tycoon, is taking its business in a new direction: hotels.
In a move that underlines the popularity of esports, the demands of its growing audience and how video games are escaping the bounds of their consoles, Atari said it will begin construction on its first-ever video game themed hotel. Read more>>
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