Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman has been weighing up banking partners
US alternative investment giant Blackstone leads the region’s real estate news again today as the New York-based firm lines up banks to back an upcoming India REIT listing. Also in our headline roundup, the family behind Singapore’s Far East Organisation and Hong Kong’s Sino Land top Forbe’s list of the Lion City’s richest people for the ninth straight year and a mainland developer finally secured approval for a new casino in the Philippines. Keep reading for all the details on these stories and more.
Blackstone Picks BOA, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan for $1B India REIT
Blackstone Group LP, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, has picked banks for India’s first real estate investment trust listing, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The U.S. company and local partner Embassy Group selected firms including Bank of America Corp., Morgan Stanley, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., said the people. The REIT listing would raise about $1 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Read more>>
Far East Organisation’s Ng Brothers Keep Title as SG’s Richest
Singapore’s Ng brothers, who are behind developer Far East Organization, retained their top spot on Forbes’ list of the city-state’s richest people for the ninth straight year. The brothers, who are also affiliated with Hong Kong developer Sino Land, have a net worth of US$11.9 billion, up US$2.5 billion from last year.
The combined wealth of Singapore’s 50 richest tycoons has swelled 11 per cent to nearly US$116 billion (S$158 billion), up from US$104.6 billion last year, according to the Forbes Singapore Rich List 2018. Read more>>
Singapore Govt Releases Executive Condo Site for S$255M Sale
A 99-year leasehold site for executive condominium (EC) housing development at Anchorvale Crescent has been triggered for launch from the reserve list of the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme.
This follows a successful application by an unnamed developer to bid at least $255 million for the site at tender. This works out to nearly $461 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr). The 1.71ha site can be developed into a maximum of 550 residential units. ECs are a public-private housing hybrid. Read more>>
Developer Landing Intl Wins Approval for Philippine Casino
Hong Kong-listed casino investor Landing International Development Ltd says that a wholly owned unit has been granted a provisional gaming licence by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), the casino regulator in that country.
The company said in a Wednesday press release that the provisional gaming licence was granted to Landing Resorts Philippines Development Corp, “to operate a casino at the integrated leisure and entertainment resort within Entertainment City,” in Metro Manila. Read more>>
Xiamen Residents Go on Condo Crash Diet to Buy Homes
Yang Xiaodao, a 26-year-old civil servant in the Chinese city of Xiamen, says taking out a 30-year-mortgage on a two-bedroom apartment with her husband was the most regrettable decision of her life.
Although their parents covered the 1.5 million yuan (£172,285) down payment on the 2.9 million yuan flat, mortgage payments eat up more than 70 percent of the couple’s combined income of about 10,000 yuan a month – average for the city. Read more>>
SHK Selling New Yuen Long Units Below Second-Hand Prices
Hong Kong developer Sun Hung Kai Properties has put flats at one of its latest projects on sale at the cheapest prices this year, in a possible sign that the property market may be cooling in the world’s most expensive city to own a home.
Hong Kong’s largest real estate firm, is offering 108 units at its Park Yoho Milano development in Yuen Long, in the northern New Territories, at an average price of HK$13,756 per square foot after discounts, about 10 per cent lower than prices for lived-in homes at its five-year-old Riva project nearby. Read more>>
Mongkok Subsidised Home Sells for HK$10M
Hong Kong’s subsidised housing market is setting fresh records, with a government-built flat being sold for more than HK$10 million (US$1.27 million), despite new measures aimed at taming runaway property prices.
At the same time, market watchers are looking for signs of a tipping point after major developer Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) put flats at one its latest projects on sale at the cheapest prices so far this year. 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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