Hong Kong property mogul Thomas Kwok greeted by family members as he walks out of jail
India, Hong Kong and Singapore all had their own happy stories today, leading with the Blackstone-Embassy REIT being oversubscribed on the last day of its IPO. In Hong Kong, the city’s biggest developer saw its former co-chairman released from jail after trying a bit too hard to get ahead of the competition, and in Singapore, the city’s biggest developer not controlled by the government sold out all 20 of the posh condos it put up for sale on Orchard Boulevard. Keep reading for all these stories more.
Embassy Office Parks REIT IPO Subscribed 2.5 Times
The initial public offering (IPO) of Embassy Office Parks Real Estate Investment Trust (Embassy REIT) was subscribed 2.5 times, with the share sale generating a demand of over INR 53 billion ($773 million).
The institutional investor portion of the IPO was subscribed over two times while the non-institutional part saw nearly three times demand compared to the shares on offer. Earlier, the REIT had mopped up INR 17.43 billion from anchor investors.
Following the success of the IPO, Blackstone backed Embassy REIT will be India’s first publicly listed REIT. It will also open the doors for more real estate firms to raise capital through this route. Read More>>
Former SHK Boss Thomas Kwok Released From Jail After Over Three Years
Hong Kong Property mogul Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong walked out of Hong Kong’s maximum security Stanley Prison on Thursday morning, having served most of a five year jail term for bribing the city’s former No 2 government official.
The 67 year old’s son, Adam Kwok Kai-fai, was there to meet him as he walked free. He had with him a pineapple bun and milk tea, he said, the traditional Hong Kong treats being the first things his father wanted to eat and drink outside prison. The mogul’s daughter, Noelle Kwok, and his younger brother Raymond Kwok Ping-luen were also there. Read more >>
Boulevard 88 High-end Condo Sells 20 Units Worth Over S$160M
Freehold luxury development Boulevard 88 in Singapore’s prime district 10 has sold 20 residential units at an average selling price of S$3,550 per square foot, of the 25 units released to date.
City Developments Limited (CDL) and its joint venture partners, Hong Leong Holdings and Lea Investments, launched exclusive private previews of Boulevard 88 – which are by appointment only – on March 8. In total, sales of over S$160 million have been achieved so far, said CDL in a media release on Wednesday. Read more >>
COLI Bets on Top Cities as Earnings Miss Estimates
China Overseas Land & Investment (COLI), the second largest Hong Kong listed Chinese developer by market capitalisation, will focus on residential projects in top cities as the margins are high, the chairman said after its 2018 results failed to impress investors.
“We believe China’s first tier cities and clusters around them will continue to be the most buoyant economically,” Yan Jianguo told a press conference on Thursday. “We have invested RMB 40 billion ($ six billion) in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong last year – over a third of our 2018 new investment.”
The state backed developer earlier on Thursday reported a mere 3.25 percent growth in revenue and a 8.3 percent increase in core profits from a year earlier. Read more>>
Henderson, K Wah Intl Report Single-Digit Profit Increases
Hong Kong property developer Henderson Land Development, chaired by tycoon Lee Shau-kee, said on Wednesday profit attributable to its owners inched up by one percent last year, while that of K Wah International, chaired by billionaire Lui Che-woo, rose by 3.6 percent, in a reflection of Hong Kong’s cooling housing market.
Profit attributable to equity shareholders for the year to December 31, 2018 stood at HK$31.16 billion ($3.96 billion), an increase of one per cent, Henderson Land, one of the city’s largest developers, said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Lee, 90, meanwhile, also suggested in a separate statement he was considering stepping down as chairman, and passing over control to his sons Peter Lee Ka-kit and Martin Lee Ka-shing. He is Hong Kong’s second richest man. Read more >>
Singapore’s Sim Lim Square Mall on Market for S$1.3B
Sim Lim Square, Singapore’s gadget hub in Rochor Canal Road, is set to enter the collective sale market after more than 80 percent of its owners consented to sell.
The figures, 80.82 percent by share value and 81.43 percent by strata area, were confirmed on Tuesday. This comes after the initial asking price of S$1.1 billion was raised to S$1.3 billion on Feb 1.
The aim is to put the site for tender by the end of next month, said marketing agent SLP Scotia, which declined to reveal the reserve price.Read more>>
Faraday Future Sells LA Headquarters to Stay Alive
Faraday Future has sold its Los Angeles headquarters in a move to help fill the EV startup’s exhausted coffers, according to property documents obtained by The Verge. A subsidiary of New York based real estate firm Atlas Capital purchased the headquarters on March 8 and immediately began leasing the building back to Faraday Future for an undisclosed amount.
The documents did not reveal how much Faraday Future received in the sale of its headquarters.
One former employee familiar with the sale pegged the number at around $ ten million. It could be higher; Faraday Future took a $17 million loan against its headquarters in May 2018, which it has since repaid, according to the lender iBorrow. Read more >>
SG Real Estate Media Firm Looks to Acquire Home Rental Platform
Singapore-based Elara Technologies, which owns three realty portals PropTiger, Housing and Makaan, is actively looking to acquire rental housing platform for providing end to end services from listing to brokerage in this growing segment, sources said.
The News Corp and Softbank backed company is in discussion with a couple of startups which have home rental platforms for acquisition, they said. Read more >>
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