After China Splurge, CPPIB Kicks Tires On $300M Indian Mall Deal and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

While China had Singles’ Day earlier this month, Friday brings about the biggest shopping day in America, Black Friday. Not to be outdone by overzealous shoppers looking to grab the hottest toy, several real estate players made their own purchases recently. CPPIB is said to be considering a $300 million swoop for malls in India while Anbang Insurance has boosted its stake in China State Construction Engineering Corp and Evergrande keeps buying shares in China Vanke. Scroll down for all of Friday’s headlines.

CPPIB May Strike $300 Mil Deal For Indian Malls

Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has emerged as a strong contender to clinch a $300 million deal to buy into select mall assets of Atul Ruia-led Phoenix Mills, multiple people familiar with the matter said. Phoenix, which owns and operates some of the country’s largest integrated consumption centers, has a network of eight malls with six million sq ft leased space across six cities.

CPPIB, a pension asset manager with $300 billion invested globally, is expected to buy into select retail assets of the Mumbai-headquartered Phoenix. The deal under discussions would cover the one million sq ft Phoenix Market City Mall in the Whitefield suburb of Bangalore, and another project under planning, sources cited earlier added. Read more>>

Evergrande Closes in on Board Seat as It Ups Vanke Stake to 10%

China Evergrande Group is inching closer to winning a seat among the directors of China Vanke Co, with a disclosure that it has accumulated 10 percent of the larger developer’s outstanding shares. Associated companies and units belonging to Evergrande have bought 552 million Vanke shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in August and September, doubling its stake to 10 per cent, according to a Vanke statement.

With the stake, Guangzhou-based Evergrande is eligible to call for a shareholders’ meeting, according to Vanke’s articles of association. The move pushed Vanke’s shares to a record HK$23.40 in Hong Kong. Its shares in Shenzhen were down 0.3 percent to 27.22 yuan, after hitting an all time high last week. Read more>>

Anbang Boosts Holding CSCEC

Chinese insurance conglomerate Anbang Insurance Group has substantially boosted its holdings in China State Construction Engineering Corp, the country’s biggest construction company, drawing regulatory attention to the purpose behind the move.

The construction firm said on Tuesday it received an inquiry letter from the Shanghai Stock Exchange asking about Anbang’s recent massive purchase of the shares. Anbang has bought at least 363 million shares of the construction giant since Friday, boosting its holdings in the company to 6.21 percent of total outstanding shares, making it the fourth-largest shareholder of the company, according to public filings. Read more>>

Developer Modern Land Wins Obscure Honor in Hong Kong

Modern Land was presented the “Listed Company of Best Growth Potential” at the 6th China Securities Golden Bauhinia Awards. The awards were hosted by Ta Kung Wen Wei Media Group and assess, select and honor mainland China and Hong Kong listed companies.

Modern Land has consistently poured itself to a homeland of “green +comfort + energy-saving + full-life cycle residential properties with mobile internet”. The company has developed property projects in Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Taiyuan, Changsha, Foshan and other various cities in mainland China. Read more>>

SM Prime To Open 7th Mall In China

SM Prime Holdings will end the year with a major boost on its mall portfolio as it sets to open its seventh mall within the world’s second largest economy on December 17. SMPH president Jeffrey Lim said the company is scheduled to do a soft opening of Tianjin Mall in China, one of the world’s largest malls, on the third week of December.

SM Tianjin is considered one of the largest malls in the world for having gross floor area (GFA) of 540,000 square meters, which could be the size of three big football stadiums combined. The portion that will open next month would have a size of 150,000 square meters, which is equivalent to a mall of regular size here. Read more>>

Abe Stars as Hitler in Shenyang Shopping Mall

An exhibition of wax figures of world leaders at a shopping mall in Shenyang, capital of northeastern China’s Liaoning province, is stirring up much controversy and online discussion. A figure of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe sports Hitler’s signature moustache while bowing dejectedly.

Photos of the exhibition went viral on social media, with netizens either praising or assailing the Japanese leader’s statue. Some say Abe’s depiction as Hitler is most inappropriate as it reflects the lack of professionalism on the part of the sculptor who made the wax replicas and the mall management who exhibited them. Read more>>

Tune in again tomorrow for more news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter for headlines as they happen.

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