In February, Crown was denied a gaming licence for its new casino in Sydney
The world’s largest real estate investor dominates the top two stories around Asia today as Blackstone appears to be putting the final touches on acquisitions in Australia and India, according to local news reports.
Singapore is also in the headlines today after March home sales bounced back from a brief recess over February’s lunar new year holiday, and Hongkong Land is planning some updates to its blue chip portfolio in Central as the city’s office market continues to slide.
Blackstone Links $6B Offer for Crown Resorts to Casino Licence Status
Australian casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd said private equity giant Blackstone Group Inc modified the conditions of a proposed US$6 billion buyout, saying the target must not lose further state licences before the deal is approved.
Crown has already been found to be unfit to hold a gambling licence for its Sydney casino due to alleged links to organised crime, and faces quasi-judicial public inquiries into its operations in Victoria and Western Australia (WA), the two other states where it operates. Read more>>
Blackstone Said Ready to Sign Deal for Warburg’s Embassy Industrial Parks in India
Global private equity giant Blackstone Group is all set to sign a deal next week to acquire Embassy Industrial Parks, two people told VCCircle.
Embassy Industrial Parks is a 70:30 joint venture between private equity firm Warburg Pincus and real estate developer Embassy Group. Back in 2015, the duo had set up the JV to build industrial and warehousing parks in the country. Read more>>
Singapore Private Home Sales Doubled in March After Spring Festival Lull
New private home sales in Singapore soared last month as buyers rushed in after taking a break for Chinese New Year in February.
March sales doubled to hit 1,293 from February’s 645 with posh homes selling like hot cakes as luxury flats take centre stage, according to URA Realis caveats on April 12. It would be the highest new private home sales tally for the month of March since 1,780 units were shifted in March 2017, said PropNex chief executive Ismail Gafoor. Read more>>
Hong Kong Office Rents Fell at Slower Pace in 2021 Q1 Says CBRE
Hong Kong’s grade-A office rents continued to contract, albeit at a slower rate of 3.3 percent quarter-on-quarter, said real estate services company, CBRE. The agency predicts rents to drop by 5 percent to 10 percent this year.
Greater Central rents fell by 3.2 percent q-o-q, following a 6 percent quarterly drop in the last quarter of 2020. Across the harbour in Kowloon, Greater Tsim Sha Tsui posted the largest rental decline of 5.5 percent q-o-q amid a 1.8 percentage point increase in vacancy, also the largest increase of any district. Read more>>
Hongkong Land Plans Millennial-Friendly Makeover for Central Towers
Hongkong Land Holdings, owner of The Landmark and The Exchange Square in Central, is poised to upgrade its half-century old buildings with modern features it hopes will help attract a new generation of millennial bankers and lawyers.
The 132-year-old landlord, which owns some 450,000 square metres of prime office and retail properties in Central, has been experimenting with a more modern aesthetic packed with “Instagram moments” in some of the city’s iconic buildings, where many young hotshots work on IPOs and M&A deals worth billions of dollars. Read more>>
Shanghai Plans New Towns in the Suburb as Commercial Capital Sprawls
Shanghai’s authorities have unveiled a grand plan to develop new townships out of five suburban districts to relieve the population density in the sprawling megapolis of almost 25 million people.
Five new towns will be developed in the Qingpu, Fengxian, Jiading, Nanhui and Songjiang districts, where Shanghai mayor Gong Zheng had promised to build major industrial projects with high-quality public infrastructure and comprehensive transport hubs. Read more>>
China Commands Top Cities to Build More Rental Housing
China has instructed the governments of six cities to build more public housing to be rented by low-income groups and young people who have found it difficult to own a home in one of the world’s largest housing markets.
Ni Hong, the country’s deputy housing minister, told officials in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Fuzhou and Nanning that the development of affordable rental housing was a major policy decision of the central government and the State Council. Read more>>
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