Blackstone Buys $54M Stake in Indian Logistics Portfolio and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Warehouses lead the real estate news today around Asia as US private equity giant Blackstone ups its bets on India’s logistics sector and a Korean institution buys the UK’s largest car distribution centre before it’s even finished. Southeast Asia’s wealthiest nation also hits the headlines after home sales slid by more than one-quarter in 2019, and a New York developer has started work on a pair of 250-metre-plus-tall towers in Shanghai. All these stories and more are here for you in Mingtiandi’s headline roundup.

Blackstone Invests $53.6M for Stake in AllCargo Logistics Facilities

Blackstone Group Inc. is acquiring a part of Allcargo Logistics Ltd’s warehousing business, as the US-based private equity firm continues to ramp up its large portfolio of real estate assets in India.

Mumbai-listed Allcargo said in a stock-exchange filing that Blackstone will invest up to Rs 380 crore ($53.6 million) in the company’s warehousing subsidiaries through a combination of equity and debentures. Read More>>

Korean Investor Invests £300M in UK Car Warehouse

Korean money manager has placed a bumper bet on British car firms by investing £300m in a distribution centre for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). Korea Investment & Securities (KIS) is bankrolling the construction of a sprawling warehouse that will distribute parts across the globe.

JLR has agreed a 20-year lease for the Appleby Magna site near Ashby in the Midlands. The hub is being built by IM Properties using KIS funds, React News reported. The site is set to be the UK’s largest logistics development used by a single tenant and at almost 3 million square feet, it is the size of more than 52 football pitches. Read more>>

Singapore Condo Sales Slid 27% in 2019

THE number of Singapore condominium units resold last year totalled just 9,017, sliding 27.4 per cent from 2018, according to real estate portal SRX Property’s latest report on the non-landed private residential resale market.

As for December 2019, an estimated 650 units were resold during the month, dropping 15.4 per cent from the previous month but increasing 21.5 per cent year on year (y-o-y), according to SRX’s report. Last December’s volume is also 15.3 per cent higher than the five-year average volume for the month. Read more>>

Tishman Speyer Breaks Ground on Pair of Shanghai Skyscrapers

Construction of the tallest skyscraper in Shanghai’s northeast downtown got underway over the weekend. US developer Tishman Speyer expects to complete the 280-meter and 250-meter twin towers of The Springs in Yangpu District’s Xinjiangwancheng area around 2025.

The buildings will contain offices, shops, restaurants, a theater and a Mirage Hotel, with the complex to be connected with Sanmen Road Station on Metro lines 10 and 20. Read more>>

JPMorgan Chase, Nomura Lease More Space in the Shanghai Tower

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Nomura Holdings are taking extra office space in China with both increasing headcount in the nation as it opens its US$45 trillion financial industry to more competition.

New York-headquartered JPMorgan boosted its space in Shanghai Tower, China’s tallest skyscraper, to 20,000 square meters (215,300 square feet) from 15,000 square meters, according to people familiar with the matter. Read more>>

Swire Confirms Cuts to Hong Kong Retail Rents

Hong Kong-based real-estate and aviation group Swire Pacific Ltd. has been cutting some rents in the city, where months of violent protests choked off business for retailers and tourism operators.

Swire’s Pacific Place mall has shops with brands including Cartier and Louis Vuitton, though its location has at times made it a refuge for protesters fleeing police tear gas and rubber bullets. Unspecified rent concessions have been offered to the company’s tenants on a case-by-case basis, Michelle Low, the conglomerate’s finance director, said in a briefing with analysts Friday. Read more>>

Walmart Fires 56 Executives in India Restructuring

Walmart Inc, the world’s largest retailer, has fired 56 of its executives in India as it restructures in the country.

The move underscores the challenges Walmart has faced in expanding its wholesale business in India. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company currently operates 28 wholesale stores in the Asian country where it sells goods to small shopkeepers, and not to retail consumers. Read more>>

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

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