Founder and CEO at AirTrunk
A mega investment in a big data centre leads Asia Pacific’s real estate headlines on the day before Christmas with Airtrunk announcing plans for a 354MW facility in Melbourne. Also making the list today is a Mapletree warehouse acquisition in the Netherlands and the chairman of a Chinese theme park operator getting added to the naughty list.
Airtrunk to Invest $3.4B Developing 354MW Melbourne Data Centre
AirTrunk announced on Wednesday that it has acquired a site in northwest Melbourne for its second data centre in the Australian city.
The Blackstone-backed company says the project involves A$5 billion ($3.4 billion) in new direct investment with the data centre set to add 354MW of capacity to its Australian portfolio. Read more>>
Mapletree Buys Netherlands Warehouse for $38.1M
European logistics fund manager Verdion said on Tuesday that it has sold a 34,852 square metre (375,143.8 square foot) warehouse in the Netherlands to Singapore’s Mapletree Investments for euros 32.3 million ($38.1million).
The property is located in the Business Park Borchwerf I in Roosendaal, an established logistics hub in the Netherlands with the acquisition coming after Mapletree picked up a pair of UK warehouses earlier this year. Read more>>
Chairman of Mainland Theme Park Operator Detained by Police After Defaults
Police in eastern China’s Zhejiang province have detained Yu Faxiang, the chairman of Hong Kong-listed Haichang Ocean Park Holdings, as authorities investigate alleged mismanagement following defaults on multibillion-yuan wealth products issued by a firm under his control.
Police have imposed “criminal compulsory measures” against Yu and were conducting a probe into his alleged wrongdoings, Haichang, mainland China’s largest marine theme park operator, said in an exchange filing on Tuesday, adding that it had been notified by Yu’s family about the matter. Read more>>
Japan’s JR East Ties Up with Itochu for Development Joint Venture
Japan’s Itochu conglomerate announced on Wednesday that it has signed a memorandum with JR East to acquire and develop real estate along the railway operator’s transit lines.
The two companies aim to create a joint venture real estate company engaging in both commercial and residential projects by integrating JR East Real Estate with Itochu Property Development. Read more>>
Former Sabana REIT Subject to Mandatory Offer After ESR Sells Stake
Mindarie Investment, a wholly owned subsidiary of Swiss-based Volare Group, on Tuesday launched a mandatory conditional cash offer for all issued and outstanding units of Alpha Integrated Real Estate Investment Trust at S$0.48 ($0.4) per unit.
The move comes after Volare acquired a significant stake of AI-REIT, formerly known as Sabana REIT, from ESR Group, triggering the mandatory offer threshold of 30 percent under the Singapore Code on Take-overs and Mergers. Read more>>
Singapore Office Landlords Expected to Boost Rents as Supply Tighten in 2026
The balance of power is shifting towards landlords in Singapore’s prime office market, with most property consultants forecasting an acceleration in Central Business District (CBD) Grade A office rent growth in 2026 due to tighter supply conditions. Demand is expected to remain stable.
CBRE expects the gross effective average office rental value for grade A properties in its core CBD basket to increase by 4.9 percent to S$12.90 ($10.1) per square foot per month in the fourth quarter of 2026, from S$12.30 in the fourth quarter of this year. Read more>>
Malaysia Building in Wan Chai Said to Receive $167.2M Offer
Hong Kong’s recovering commercial market is offering hope for even some of the city’s loneliest properties this holiday season, with the Malaysia Building, an aging office tower at 50 Gloucester Road in Wan Chai, said to have received an offer of HKD$1.3 billion ($167.2 million).
The commercial block owned by the Malaysian government had been the subject of a tender offer launched in August which concluded in November without a deal. Now market reports indicate that the 129,950 square foot (12,072.8 square metre) may be close to selling. Read more>>
Fitch Cuts Vanke Credit Rating to Selective Default After Bond Extension
S&P Global Ratings downgraded China Vanke Co. to selective default on Tuesday, labeling the developer’s recent onshore bond extension as a distressed debt restructuring tantamount to a default.
The move to SD from CCC- in long-term rating follows a narrow reprieve on Monday, when holders of a RMB 2 billion ($284.6 million) note voted to extend a grace period to 28 January. However, creditors rejected Vanke’s proposal to defer principal payment for a year, leaving the state-backed builder lurching toward eventual default or restructuring. Read more>>
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