Hong Kong’s home sales have nosedived in February
Hong Kong leads the way in Mingtiandi’s roundup of Asia real estate headlines today with news that the coronavirus is expected to shrink home sales in February by between 50 percent and 80 percent, according to analysts.
In other news around the region, a state-backed mainland company has completed the construction of a hospital in Wuhan in ten days, while a Chinese brokerage says the country’s housing market, which has slumped as a result of the virus outbreak, is likely to bounce back. Elsewhere, a co-working giant continues to expand in India, and analysts expect distributions by Singapore hospitality REITs to plunge.
Hong Kong Home Sales Set to Shrink by Up to 80%
The coronavirus outbreak is hurting Hong Kong’s residential property market as flat viewings dwindle and transaction volume shrinks in private housing estates where some infected residents were detected by health authorities.
The pain is being felt amid scenes of city residents making a beeline for face masks at local pharmacies and empty shelves in neighbourhood supermarkets over the past week. Read more>>
China State Construction Engineering Completes Wuhan Hospital in 10 Days
Crews have completed the rapid 10-day construction of the Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan. The building was handed over to the medical team of the People’s Liberation Army of China, which will set up and manage the facility designed to treat victims of the novel coronavirus.
Constructed by China Construction Third Engineering Bureau, a subsidiary of China State Construction Engineering, the building and auxiliary facilities encompass 33,900 square metres (364,897 square feet) and include space for 1,000 beds. Read more>>
AMP Capital Secures Financing for KRW 911B US Data Centre Acquisition
Shinhan Investment has provided KRW 194.1 billion ($162 million) in financing for AMP Capital’s KRW 911 billion acquisition of the US data centre and cloud computing services firm Expedient, in an investment expected to generate a double-digit return.
The financing was split into KRW 76.1 billion in common shares and 118 KRW billion senior debt, said a source with knowledge of the matter. Read more>>
Huatai Securities Says China’s Virus-Hit Housing Market Likely to Bounce Back
The hit to China’s property market from the coronavirus outbreak could be shortlived, with analysts saying any initial plunge in home sales will probably be made up for later due to latent demand.
While the virus has prompted more than 100 Chinese cities to temporarily close property-sales showrooms, people will delay purchases rather than shelve apartment-buying plans altogether, Huatai Securities Co. analysts led by Chen Shen wrote in a report Sunday. Read more>>
WeWork Opens 2 More Co-Working Locations in India
Co-working giant WeWork India, owned by real estate firm Embassy Group, has expanded its operations by adding two new centres in Mumbai and Bangalore comprising a combined 4,350 seating capacity to meet the growing demand of flexible workspace.
In Mumbai, the co-working centre is located at Nesco IT Park and will have 3,400 desks, while a 950-seater location has been opened in Bangalore’s Prestige Cube. Read more>>
Shui On Announces Rent Breaks for Wuhan Retail Tenants
Shui On Land has announced rent concessions for commercial tenants at all of its projects to help brick-and-mortar tenants cope with a downturn in foot traffic caused by an outbreak of coronavirus-related pneumonia.
The announcement followed the property developer’s donation of RMB 10 million ($1.43 million) to the Red Cross Society of China’s Wuhan branch. Read more>>
SG Entry Ban Expected to Bring Double-digit Hit to Hospitality REIT Distributions
Distributions to investors from hospitality real estate investment trusts could be cut by up to double digits, analysts say, after the Singapore government’s latest entry ban on travellers with recent history of visiting China.
This negative prognosis, accompanied by stock downgrades, caused hospitality REITs to slump on Monday. They have already fallen more than 7 percent since alarm was raised some two weeks ago over the novel coronavirus outbreak spreading from Wuhan in China, surpassing the benchmark Straits Times Index’s (STI) slide of about 5 per cent over the same period. 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.
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