CapitaLand CEO Lee Chee Koon speaking at the Sustainability X event in Singapore last week
In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, real estate giant CapitaLand hatches a five-year fund to boost innovation and sustainability, another Hong Kong parking spot goes for an eye-popping sum, and Singapore’s retail and office REITs outperform despite recent COVID curbs.
CapitaLand Sets Up S$50M Sustainable Innovation Fund
CapitaLand, one of Asia’s largest real estate groups, is setting up a S$50 million ($37.7 million) fund over five years to encourage more innovation and to achieve its 2030 sustainability targets, which include greening all its buildings in Singapore and around the world by 2030.
Group chief executive Lee Chee Koon on Friday said the CapitaLand Innovation Fund supports high-tech projects within the company aimed at making its buildings and facilities more sustainable. Read more>>
HK Parking Spot Sells for $1.3M as Speculators Swarm
A wealthy shareholder in vaccine maker Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise has forked out HK$10.11 million ($1.3 million) for a parking space at the exclusive Mount Nicholson on The Peak.
Qiu Mingjing’s identity was revealed by records filed to the Land Registry on Friday, two days after it emerged that textile tycoon Poon Ho-tak paid a world record HK$11.9 million for another parking bay at the super-deluxe development. Qiu’s purchase was 15 percent cheaper than Poon’s. Read more>>
Hong Kong’s Frenzied Homebuyers Snap Up New World Tai Wai Project
Hong Kong’s property buyers snapped up every single flat put on the market by New World Development during its second round of weekend sales of The Pavilia Farm III project in Tai Wai, with a record number of bidders chasing after every unit.
As many as 30,108 online bids were received for 338 flats, or 89 registrations of interest for every apartment on average, according to a New World spokeswoman. Every unit had sold out by 7pm on Saturday, according to several sales agents. Read more>>
Architects Fight for Historic Post Office in Hong Kong’s Central
After serving Hong Kong for almost half a century, the city’s post office headquarters standing in the heart of Central will be demolished to make way for a prime commercial development.
But some architects believe the iconic building can be saved while still being part of the development, and are suggesting various ways to repurpose it. Read more>>
Singapore Retail and Office REITs Outperform Despite COVID Measures
On 16 May, Singapore announced tighter measures to combat the increased number of local COVID-19 cases. The four weeks of tightened measures left malls, eateries and offices quieter as the country defaulted to working from home and dining in at restaurants was prohibited.
SGX lists 10 S-REITs with exposure to Singapore’s office and/or retail segment. Despite lower footfall in the past four weeks, those 10 generated average total returns of 6.5 percent, outperforming the 5.6 percent average of the overall S-REITs sector and the Straits Times Index’s 3.6 percent total return. Read more>>
Singapore Brokers Expect to Benefit From Relaxed Covid Measures
Singapore property agents are optimistic about the effects of relaxed COVID-19 measures. The Multi-Ministry Taskforce announced last Thursday that social gathering group sizes will increase from two to five persons, effective 14 June.
Occupancy limits of shopping malls and show galleries will also increase to one person per 10 square metres (108 square feet) of gross floor area, up from the current one person per 16 square metres. Read more>>
Genting SG Leads Japanese Consortium in Yokohama Casino Bid
Genting Singapore has submitted a bid to build an integrated resort (IR) in Japan’s Yokohama City, leading a consortium of Japanese corporates including Sega Sammy Holdings, Sohgo Security Services, Kajima Corp, Takenaka Corp and Obayashi Corp.
Genting hopes to develop “a world-class IR destination that is strategically positioned, sustainable and anchored on strong local collaborations”, the company said in a Friday press release after the market close. Last June, a Genting joint venture with Sega Sammy was cited by Japanese media to be one of two qualifying parties for the Yokohama IR request for proposal. Read more>>
Philippine Builder Filinvest Expects Valuation Boost After REIT IPO
Filinvest Land, the cheapest among the biggest builders in the Philippines, expects a valuation boost when its REIT venture goes public later this year.
The planned third-quarter float of 17 office buildings in a real estate investment trust should also help Filinvest Land finance projects and return to a pre-pandemic level of earnings within three years, chief executive Josephine Gotianun-Yap said. Read more>>
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