ADIA Said Hiring Country Head for New India Office and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Leading today’s news roundup, the world’s second-largest sovereign wealth fund is reported to be growing its presence in the world’s second-most-populous country, with plans to hire a head for India and eventually set up an office. Further east, China’s rental housing boom is looking like a new high-tech growth sector, judging by all the VC capital rushing into it. There’s also yet another collective sale in Singapore, an update about a property trust that flailing HNA Group was going to help take public, and a new bond offering by Shanghai’s CIFI Holdings. Read on for all these stories and more.

ADIA Hiring Country Head for New India Office

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the world’s second largest sovereign wealth fund, is set to expand its India presence by hiring a new country head and eventually setting up an office here, two people aware of the development said.

ADIA, which manages assets worth $792 billion, has mandated global recruitment firm Egon Zehnder to find a head for its Indian operations, the first of the two people said on condition of anonymity, adding discussions are on with a handful of private equity veterans and infrastructure specialists. Read more>>

High-Tech Investors Bet on China’s Rental Housing

In its attempt to cool what are among the fastest-rising property prices in the world, China is pushing its people to rent instead of buy. That’s prompting venture capitalists to pour millions into an old-fashioned sector that’s being uprooted by technology: rental management.

Tencent Holdings Ltd., Warburg Pincus and Sequoia Capital are among the VCs betting on startups to win a slice of the market expected to grow to 4.2 trillion yuan ($664 billion) by 2030, according to estimates from Orient Securities Co. That’s almost half of total home sales in 2017. Read more>>

Roxy Pacific Unit and Partner Scoop Up Singapore Condo Site

A joint venture of RP Ventures Pte Ltd and TE2 Development Pte Ltd has acquired Singapore’s The Wilshire condominium for S$98.8 million ($75.4 million), which works out to a land rate of $1,536 psf per plot ratio (ppr), revealed Savills Singapore, which brokered the deal.

RP Ventures Pte Ltd is a subsidiary of Roxy Pacific Holdings while TE2 Development Pte Ltd is a private family office of Tong Eng Group’s managing director, Teo Tong Lim. With an area of 39,130 square feet (3,635 square metres), the freehold site is currently occupied by an eight-storey block with 20 apartment units ranging between 2,196 and 5,662 square feet. Read more>>

AEP Said Preparing for Trust IPO After HNA Bails

AEP Investment Management Pte has resumed work on a long-delayed Singapore initial public offering of its property assets after Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co. terminated its participation in the listing, people familiar with the matter said.

Singapore-based AEP held talks with advisers this week about preparing to list the property trust later in 2018, according to the people. It plans to seek a market value of as much as S$600 million ($459 million) and aims to list around the second quarter, though the timeline could slip, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details are private. Read more>>

CIFI Holdings Proposes $357 Zero-Coupon Bond Issue

China’s CIFI Holdings (Group) announced that the Group will issue its first zero-coupon convertible bonds, totalling HK$2.79 billion (US$357 million), which will mature in 2019. The proposed issue is reported to have received an overwhelming response from investors and recorded a substantial over-subscription at a high-end price.

The conversion price will be HK$9.30 per share, 30% conversion premium to the latest closing price. The net proceeds from the bonds will be used to refinance its existing indebtedness and/or general working capital. Read more>>

Juwai.com Partners with Association of Family Offices in Asia

Juwai.com, one of the largest Chinese international property platforms, has partnered with the Association of Family Offices in Asia to make it easier for high-net worth and ultra-high-net worth Chinese and other Asian investors to source, evaluate and invest in international real estate, the portal recently announced.

The two partners will jointly screen, review and partner in real estate and other investment opportunities; roll out a joint institutional training program to nurture more quality real estate investment professionals; and collaborate on events and functions serving investors. Read more>>

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