CICT Overtakes Link to Become Asia’s Largest REIT and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

A successful equity sale has sent CapitaLand’s flagship listed trust to the top of Asia’s REIT ranks, with that story leading Mingtiandi’s look at real estate headlines from around the region today. Also making the list are the latest distressed building sale by a Hong Kong tycoon and investment manager Barings closing in on a Sydney office buy.

CICT Overtakes Hong Kong’s Link to Become Asia’s Largest REIT

CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust is now the largest REIT in Asia, following a private placement in August in which CICT’s manager issued 284.4 million new units at S$2.11 apiece.

The gross proceeds of S$600 million ($465.7 million) were mainly used to finance the proposed acquisition of the remaining 55 percent interest in the office and retail component of CapitaSpring. Read more>>

Distressed Hong Kong Tycoon Lai Wing To Said to Sell Mong Kok Building at 40% Markdown

Hong Kong investor Lai Wing-to has sold 132 Sai Yeung Choi Street South in Mong Kok for approximately HK$62 million ($8 million), according to local news reports citing market sources, parting with the asset for nearly 40 percent less than what he paid for the property in 2009.

Once among Hong Kong’s most prolific real estate speculators, Lai has been selling properties in the UK and in his home city, including parting with a commercial building in London last year for the equivalent of $46 million. Read more>>

Barings Eyes $238M Sydney Office Purchase on Hopes of Aussie Commercial Rebound

Global asset manager Barings is targeting the purchase of the Darling Square office development in Sydney for about A$360 million ($238 million) as the market for larger office assets firms. The move to secure the interest in the Grade A building comes as the gateway office market stages a recovery, with capital again looking to get set at an early part of the turnaround.

The Sydney market is partly following the lead of Brisbane, which has seen a number of deals struck by both syndicators and institutions, in an indicator that they are also able to raise funds more easily. Both Sentinel and Quintessential have picked up assets in Fortitude Valley, and North Sydney has also drawn fund managers. Read more>>

Cromwell Investors Vote to Wind Up Flagship Office Fund

Property group Cromwell will wind up its flagship unlisted property fund for retail investors, a vehicle with about A$500 million ($331 million) in assets, after clients flagged that they wanted their capital back.

The fund manager conducted a liquidity event for the Cromwell Direct Property Fund in July and said withdrawal requests exceeded 50 percent of the units on issue, which meant it was required to begin the process of realising assets, leading to an eventual wind-up. The fund owns buildings across Australia, with a focus on Queensland assets, and has stakes in two of Cromwell’s unlisted trusts. Read more>>

Seoul Apartment Rent Index Hits Record High

The monthly rent index for Seoul apartments has reached a record high, with nearly half of Seoul apartment monthly rent transactions requiring payments of over KRW 1 million ($713) per month. Complaints are growing over the increasing burden of housing costs as monthly rent transactions rise.

According to KB Real Estate’s Monthly Housing Price Trends, the monthly rent index for Seoul apartments reached 129.7 in September. This was the highest figure since the related statistics began in December 2015. The monthly rent index for apartments in the metro area also hit a record high of 130.1. Read more>>

Veteran Singapore Lawyer Sees Shift in Court Approach to Collective Sales

Courts are going beyond procedural box-ticking in collective sales, with recent cases underscoring the importance of fairness and transparency, said Norman Ho, senior partner at Rajah & Tann Singapore.

Speaking at the 32nd Pan Pacific Congress of Real Estate Appraisers, Valuers and Counsellors on Wednesday, Ho shared insights on the en bloc sale landscape from recent Strata Titles Boards and court decisions. Read more>>

Unfinished Johor Condo Projects Blight Would-Be Boomtown

When Singaporean swimming coach Chu Siew Hoe first saw an artist’s impression of a luxurious waterfront condominium in Johor Bahru 10 years ago, he imagined a peaceful retirement in a spacious apartment overlooking the Straits of Johor.

To fund the MYR 1 million ($238,100) purchase of a dual-key unit at Sovereign Bay in full, Chu, now 65, refinanced his Singapore executive condo. A decade on, Sovereign Bay, located in Permas Jaya on the coast, remains an unfinished mass of concrete. Read more>>

Korea’s National Tax Service Launches Audits Involving High-End Home Purchases

The National Tax Service on Wednesday launched tax audits on 104 suspected tax evaders, including young buyers and foreigners, involved in high-end real estate transactions in Seoul.

The investigation centres on luxury home purchases in key districts such as the so-called Gangnam Four Districts — Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa and Gangdong — and the MaYongSeong areas of Mapo, Yongsan and Seongdong districts. Properties traded for over KRW 3 billion ($2.1 million) are the agency’s primary focus. Read more>>

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