Blackstone Fund Redemption Requests Continue and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, US investment giant Blackstone caps withdrawals from its BREIT real estate fund for a fifth straight month, and Chinese developer CIFI announces a delay in publishing its 2022 results.

Blackstone’s BREIT Hit by $4.5B in Fresh Withdrawal Requests

Blackstone clients asked to pull $4.5 billion from a closely followed real estate fund in March, even as the company’s executives were promoting investment opportunities in the sector that they said would arise from US economic turbulence.

Withdrawal requests at Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust rose 15 percent in March after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. It was the fifth straight month that the group has limited redemptions; withdrawals have been highest in Asia, people briefed on the flows told the Financial Times. Read more>>

CIFI to Delay Publication of 2022 Results After Anonymous Tip

CIFI Holdings plans to delay the release of its 2022 financial results after receiving an anonymous letter challenging RMB 1.8 billion ($260 million) in transactions involving the company and its services subsidiary.

CIFI’s management has conducted a review of the mentioned transactions and considers the allegations to be vague and lacking in substance, the Shanghai-based developer said. Read more>>

Hedge Fund Snow Lake Quits Hong Kong After More Than a Decade

China-focused hedge fund Snow Lake Capital has left Hong Kong after 12 years of operating in the city, people familiar with the matter said.

The company shuttered its office in Hong Kong last month, the people said, requesting not to be named discussing private matters. Founder and CEO Sean Ma has relocated to Menlo Park, California, for personal reasons. The chief operating and financial officer is also based in the US city, said one of the people. All members of the Hong Kong-based research team moved to Beijing last month, the person added. Read more>>

China’s Housing Market Has Plenty of Space but Not Enough Buyers

China’s property market appears to have stabilised after a two-year downturn. But one problem continues to hold back its recovery: a major oversupply of unsold apartments.

China had 3.5 billion square feet (325.2 million square metres) of finished but unsold apartments in February, according to Wind, a data provider. That is equivalent to around 4 million homes, according to some estimates. It is also the worst oversupply in China since 2017, when it was in the midst of a “slum clearance” programme meant to boost demand for new housing by tearing down old, dilapidated buildings. Read more>>

Top Financial Executives Visit China for First Time Since Pandemic

A flurry of top financial executives have visited China for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic as global financial giants seek to cement their relations with Beijing at the start of Xi Jinping’s new term.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, HSBC CEO Noel Quinn and Standard Chartered boss Bill Winters are among the executives to have held face-to-face meetings with Chinese officials and regulators since last weekend, Reuters reported. Read more>>

Cushman & Wakefield CEO Meets Senior Shanghai Official

A Cushman & Wakefield management delegation led by CEO John Forrester met with Wu Qing, executive vice-mayor of Shanghai, last week in the city.

The two parties discussed the economic and investment landscape in Shanghai, the global and China real estate markets, and Cushman & Wakefield’s strategic priorities in China. Read more>>

Hong Kong’s ‘Moneymaking Genes’ Help It Beat Charmless Singapore: Ronnie Chan

While some international cities that are well-equipped with hotels and airports are “artificial” and “super boring”, Hong Kong is also “full of charm”, which makes it a favourable destination for wooing talent and wealth from across the world, said Ronnie Chan, chairman of Hang Lung Properties.

Hong Kong’s unique advantages, such as its strategic location, its role in the Greater Bay Area, its government and its “moneymaking genes” make it a natural choice for families and family offices looking to establish a presence in Asia Pacific, Chan said in an interview with the South China Morning Post. Read more>>

Carrefour China Opens First Community Shopping Centre in Shanghai

Carrefour China, the supermarket chain majority-owned by retail giant Suning.com, has opened its first community shopping centre in Shanghai as part of an ongoing shake-up of its business model.

All of the store’s new features are aimed at increasing customer loyalty and the frequency of visits to the store. Carrefour China hopes to convert all of its more than 100 stores in the country to this business model, an employee said. Read more>>

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