Candor TechSpace Sector 48 is one of the assets being acquired by Brookfield India REIT-GIC JV
Some equity financing for a pair of India office acquisitions leads today’s set of headlines from around Asia’s real estate industry. Also on the list today is a painful return to trading for Evergrande’s property management unit and the chairman of Shanghai’s CIFI Holdings is said to be cutting the price for his Hong Kong home as the developer continues to struggle.
Brookfield India Trust Raises $278M to Finance Office Acquisitions
Brookfield India Real Estate Trust on 2 August announced that it has completed raising over INR 23 billion ($278 million) through Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) of units.
The firm further noted that the proceeds from the placement will be directed toward financing the announced acquisition of two large commercial assets from Brookfield Asset Management’s private real estate funds, it said in a stock regulatory filing. In May Brookfield India Real Estate Trust announced that it was buying one office building each in Mumbai and Gurgaon worth a combined $1.4 billion through a joint venture with Singapore’s GIC. Read more>>
Evergrande Property Services Shares Sink 50% as Trading Resumes
Shares of Evergrande Property Services Group shed 50 percent of their value on Thursday when trading resumed after 16 months, following the release of its financial results and the end of an investigation into misused funds involving its parent.
The property services firm was dragged into financial troubles after its parent, China Evergrande Group, the world’s most indebted property developer, became embroiled in a debt crisis in mid-2021 that later spread across the sector. Read more>>
Leaders of Shanghai’s CIFI Holdings Mark Down Hong Kong Houses
CIFI Holdings Group’s chairman Lin Zhong and other executives are trying to sell five houses in Hong Kong for about 16 percent below cost at $253 million, Hong Kong Economic Times reported, citing unidentified people.
The homes are on 44 to 50 Chung Hom Kok Road and 1 Horizon Drive. Among them, the house on 50 Chung Hom Kok Road is the biggest at 6,364 square feet, according to the sales brochure. It’s asking for HK$442 million ($56.6 million), down from initial HK$520 million. Read more>>
India’s Godrej Properties Reports 175% Profit Jump
Godrej Properties Ltd.’s profit jumped nearly threefold in the first quarter, but missed analysts’ estimates. The profit jump was due to the inclusion of share of profit from the joint venture.
The company’s consolidated net profit surged 174.7 percent year-on-year to INR 1.25 billion ($15.1 million) for the quarter ended June, according to an exchange filing. Analysts polled by Bloomberg had estimated a net profit of INR 1.45 billion. Read more>>
Chinese Cities Said Tightening Developer Access to Escrow Funds
Some Chinese city governments have made it harder for developers to access tens of billions of dollars from property sales held in escrow accounts, people familiar with the matter said, raising risks that the cash-strapped companies will be squeezed even more.
The moves are aimed at ensuring the completion of more unfinished projects at the city level, they said, at a time when home sales are sliding and the future of the whole sector is uncertain. Read more>>
PBOC Said Pushing China’s Commercial Banks to Lower Rates on Existing Mortgages
China’s central bank will guide commercial banks to lower mortgage rates for existing borrowers, as well as reduce the down payment ratio on properties, in a move seen as vital to ease the financial burden of households and release consumer spending power amid a floundering real estate market that is eroding the economy.
The pledges came as part of the central bank’s priorities for the second half of the year, which include addressing financial risks, increasing the attractiveness of the yuan for foreign investors and further supporting the real estate market to shore up an economy which disappointed the market in the second quarter. Read more>>
Hong Kong Luxury Home Rentals Rebound on Mainland White Collar Demand
The demand for rental homes in several prominent districts of Hong Kong struck an all-time high in July as an influx of mainland China professionals and graduates added pressure to a red-hot market and fuelled expectations of further rent increases in the second half of 2023, property agents said.
The Mid-Levels West area recorded a total of 501 leasing transactions in July, the highest monthly tally ever, according to Centaline Property Agency. In Yuen Long’s district centre, rental agreements also hit a record of 200 last month while the 85 rental transactions struck in Tsing Yi was a three month high, according to the data complied by agents. Read more>>
Sweetened US EB-5 Program Attracts Wealthy Chinese Seeking Visas
A popular U.S. program that offers permanent American residency to foreigners who invest in qualified job-creating projects has sweetened the offer—and attracted fresh interest from wealthy Chinese seeking a way out of their country.
Many Chinese are worried about their country’s direction after three years of harsh Covid-19 restrictions, tougher ideological controls under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, rising tensions with the West and dimmer economic prospects. More people are leaving China, from all economic strata, with some feeling an increased sense of urgency. Read more>>
Oceanwide Plaza in Los Angeles May Need Redesign to Find a Buyer
Potential buyers are mulling a different future for an unfinished skyscraper project — considered an eyesore by some as it looms over downtown Los Angeles — that’s years away from completion and may cost hundreds of millions of dollars to finish.
Some investors looking at buying Oceanwide Plaza see the project needing a different design because real estate demands have shifted since construction began in 2015, four people with knowledge of sales talks said. Oceanwide Plaza, on the market for more than a year, was expected to feature upscale condominiums, a five-star hotel, a mall and the largest LED sign on the West Coast. Read more>>
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