Amazon Asks India Court to Jail Erstwhile Partner and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

In the latest edition of Mingtiandi’s news roundup, Amazon escalates its Indian legal dispute with a call to jail a local business partner, serviced apartment operators in Hong Kong slash rents by as much as half, and China’s property sector cools even as the economy comes roaring back.

Amazon Asks India Court to Jail Erstwhile Partner

Amazon.com has filed a petition in an Indian court seeking detention of Future Group’s founder and seizure of assets for violating an arbitration court’s order that temporarily halted the sale of its retail operations to Reliance Industries, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The Delhi High Court will hear the matter on Thursday. Besides seeking prison for tycoon Kishore Biyani, the e-commerce giant wants enforcement of the Singapore arbitrator’s ruling in October against the $3.5 billion deal, the people said, asking not to be identified in light of rules on speaking to the media. Read more>>

Serviced Apartment Operators Slash Rents in Hong Kong

Residents and expatriates in the world’s most expensive city now have a chance to make some big savings on rents.

Hong Kong’s embattled serviced apartment operators are slashing rents, in some cases by as much as half, and offering sweeteners to boost occupancy rates that have been hit hard by travel restrictions and a sharp decline in relocations because of the coronavirus pandemic. Read more>> 

Beijing Turns the Screws on China’s Property Sector

Even as China’s economy grew faster in December than before the coronavirus pandemic hit, the country’s property market struck a more downbeat tone.

While new home prices across the country’s biggest cities rose 3.7 percent last month compared with a year earlier, the pace of growth was the slowest since early 2016 and prices were up only marginally from November. Read more>>

Shanghai Tightens Rules to Further Cool Property Market

Shanghai has expanded the scope of purchase restrictions and curbed loans facilitating transactions, in a renewed effort to rein in the city’s recent buying frenzy.

The latest curbs come on top of rules announced by the Chinese financial hub last week after sales by volume hit a nearly four-year high. Read more>>

ARA Logos REIT Posts 8.9% Rise in H2 DPU to 2.927 Singapore cents

ARA Logos Logistics Trust’s (ARA Logos) distribution per unit (DPU) rose 8.9 percent to 2.927 Singapore cents for the six months ended 31 December 2020 from 2.689 cents a year earlier, the manager said on Tuesday.

On an adjusted basis, DPU was 2.646 Singapore cents, up 16.3 percent from 2.275 cents the year before. This excludes a one-off distribution consisting of S$2 million ($1.5 million) of the remaining retained distributable income released as part of H2 2020 distributable income and capital distribution of S$1.3 million. Read more>>

Mapletree Logistics Trust’s DPU Up 1% in Q3

Mapletree Logistics Trust’s (MLT) distribution per unit rose 1 percent to 2.065 Singapore cents for its third quarter ended 31 December 2020 on an enlarged unit base following its equity fundraising completed in Q3. This is up from 2.044 Singapore cents a year ago.

This sum comprises an advanced distribution of 0.623 Singapore cents for the period of 1-28 October 2020 that was paid on 4 December 2020 and 1.442 Singapore cents for the balance distribution for the period 29 October to 31 December 2020, payable on 15 March 2021. Read more>>

Tokyo Apartment Prices Rose to Near Bubble-Era High in 2020

Prices of newly-built apartments in the Tokyo area rose 1.7 percent last year, approaching the record highs seen during Japan’s asset-inflated bubble era that ended in the early 1990s, the country’s Real Estate Economic Institute said.

Higher construction costs due to preparations for the Olympics and popularity of high-rise condominiums in formerly industrial waterfront areas helped drive the average apartment price up to JPY 60.84 million ($586,410), the highest since 1990 when it reached a record JPY 61.23 million. Read more>>

Data Centres, Logistics Assets Gain Favour With Investors

Data centres and logistics properties are likely to attract greater asset allocation from investors in the Asia-Pacific region this year, after the COVID-19 pandemic forced lifestyle changes in work and consumption nearer home, property analysts said.

Faster adoption of e-commerce has boosted the appeal of logistics properties as supply deficit grows, especially in markets with large populations such as Australia, Japan and South Korea, according to M&G Real Estate in Asia, part of UK-based group with about £271 billion ($371 billion) in assets globally. Read more>>

Tune in again soon for more real estate news and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.

Share this now