China Property Investment Rebounds in April and More Asia Real Estate Headlines 

An April rebound leads the way in Mingtiandi’s roundup of Asia real estate headlines today with the news that real estate investment has picked up in mainland China as the country emerges from lockdown.

In other news around the region, a Hong Kong retail landlord has cut its base rent close to zero in its Tsim Sha Tsui shopping centres, while Asia’s logistics sector is the big winner during the global health crisis.

Elsewhere, a major real estate advisory is cutting its workforce by 7 percent.

China Property Investment Rebounds in April as Economy Reopens

Real estate investment in China quickened in April while property sales fell at a much slower pace, according to official data released on Friday, providing some relief as Beijing looks to restart the economy from coronavirus-related shutdowns.

The property market is a key driver in of growth the world’s second-largest economy and was among many segments of the Chinese economy hit hard by the coronavirus and tough containment measures. Read more>>

Hong Kong Retail Landlord Chinachem Cuts Base Rent Close to Zero

Chinachem Group is charging close to zero base rents as part of relief measures offered to some of its tenants in its Tsim Sha Tsui shopping centres since March.

Donald Choi, the Hong Kong retail landlord’s chief executive, said on Thursday that tenants selling duty-free products targeted mainly at mainland Chinese tourists have been offered the favourable terms to power through the city’s worst ever economic recession on record. Read more>>

Asia Logistics Attracts Billions as Post-Pandemic Winner

As China shakes off the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, investors have flocked to funds focused on logistics facilities there and elsewhere in Asia, anticipating that growth in e-commerce will drive strong demand even after the pandemic.

Singapore-based GLP last month closed a $2.1 billion fund with a portfolio of 34 properties across 18 Chinese cities. Participants include seven Chinese institutional investors, six of which are new clients of the logistics expert, hinting at keen interest in the field as an investing theme. Read more>>

Singapore Sees 78% Fall in Property Investment

Singapore experienced a steep decline in real estate investment volume in the first quarter this year, with transactions tumbling 78 percent year on year to $432 million, according to Real Capital Analytics’ (RCA) Asia-Pacific (Apac) Capital Trends report.

The steep drop was partly due to the comparison with a record year in 2019, though the number of deals also fell significantly to just 13 deals for the quarter, representing a 32 per cent decline from the previous year. Read more>>

Sasseur REIT Q1 DPU Falls 19.4%

Sasseur Real Estate Investment Trust, which owns outlet malls in China, posted a 19.4 percent drop in its distribution per unit (DPU) to 1.334 Singapore cents for its first quarter ended March 31, 2020, from 1.656 cents a year ago.

The REIT’s rental income under its entrusted management agreements (EMA) fell 10.1 percent to S$27.6 million for the quarter, from S$30.7 million the year prior, according to its results released on Thursday. Read more>>

Cash-Strapped Developer Tahoe Drops Acquisition Plans

Cash-strapped mainland China developer Tahoe Group has suspended its planned acquisition of an insurance subsidiary of its controlling shareholder due to perceived challenges in getting regulatory approval in the wake of its defaults.

The Shenzhen-listed company, which is based in eastern China’s Fujian province, had planned to acquire a 100 percent stake in Tahoe Life Insurance’s Hong Kong operations and 99.85 percent of its operations in Macao. Read more>>

Eastdil to Cut Staff Amid Pandemic

Eastdil Secured LLC, the commercial real estate firm whose ownership changed last year as part of a management buyout, is cutting jobs amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The New York-based firm began notifying staff about layoffs this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the moves are private. Eastdil is set to reduce global headcount by about 35 people, or roughly 7 percent of its workforce, one of the people said. Read more>>

Tune in again soon for more Hong Kong news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.

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