At the top of today’s headlines, a Hong Kong academic finds that a lack of happy families could be adding to the city’s rocketing home prices. Also in the news, China Everbright plans a new US dollar denominated China real estate fund and New World may have a plan for its sinking department store unit.
Is Divorce Driving HK’s Sky-High Home Prices?
The usual suspects for Hong Kong’s sky-high property prices are low interest rates, a housing shortage and demand from mainland China. But there’s another unforeseen factor: divorce.
Demand for separations and remarriages have accelerated sharply over the past two decades as the former British colony has deepened its integration with the mainland. That’s according to Richard Wong, an academic at the University of Hong Kong and a veteran analyst of the local housing sector. Read more>>
China Everbright Plans $2B China Property Fund
China Everbright Limited’s (0165.HK) real estate private equity arm plans to raise its first China-focused dollar fund in seven years to tap rising demand from foreign investors for assets in the world’s second largest economy, its top executive said.
EBA Investments plans to start the fund with around $1 billion to $2 billion to invest in a single project, Chen said. China Everbright Ltd’s parent company, state-owned China Everbright Group, is a financial conglomerate based in Beijing. Read more>>
New World Bids $120M to Privatize Dept Store Unit
New World Department Store China Ltd <0825.HK> said its parent firm plans to take it private for HK$934.5 million ($120 million), so that it can better tackle a challenging operating environment and take risks in implementing strategy.
Property developer New World Development Co Ltd <0017.HK>, which owns 72.29 percent of New World Department Store, is offering HK$2 apiece for all outstanding shares it does not already own. Read more>>
China Vanke Suspends Mainland Shares After Shenzhen Metro Move
China Vanke has suspended trading of its mainland-listed stock after its biggest shareholder, Shenzhen Metro Group, told the Chinese developer it was considering a buy-up of its shares.
Vanke said it had applied to freeze trading of its A-shares from Wednesday morning “to safeguard the interest of investors and prevent unusual fluctuation of share price of the Company” after learning Shenzhen Metro was considering a potential acquisition of its shares, according to a Tuesday evening filing to Hong Kong’s stock exchange. Read more>>
Frasers Logistics to Buy 7 Aussie Assets for A$169M
Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust (FLT) is buying seven industrial assets in Australia for A$169.3 million – its first portfolio acquisition since it listed in Singapore in the middle of last year.
The properties in Australia’s three largest industrial and logistics markets – Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – have an average age of 2.4 years as at March 31, trust manager Frasers Logistics & Industrial Asset Management said yesterday. Read more>>
CapitaLand Ramps Up in Japan with Tokyo Serviced Apt Launch
Singapore real estate firm CapitaLand said on Tuesday (June 6) that it is “on track” to grow its Japan portfolio to at least $3 billion by the end of the year, up from $2.5 billion now.
The company first entered the Japan market in 2001 and has been gradually expanding its presence here, including through the acquisition of three office buildings and a shopping mall in Greater Tokyo earlier this year for $620.1 million. Read more>>
Gaw Capital US Fund Fully Invested After Oakland Hotel Deal
Gaw Capital Partners’ second US value-added real estate fund is fully invested, having acquired the Oakland Marriott City Center in San Francisco.
The Hong Kong-headquartered fund manager said it had deployed all of the US$315m (€280m) raised in 2015 for its US Value Add Fund II. Read more>>
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