An aerial view of ESR Sohna Logistics Park in Delhi NCR
In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, industrial giant ESR announces a new project in India’s Gujarat state, and Blackstone-backed Nexus Select Trust seeks to double its India mall holdings through acquisitions. Also on the list is a Cadillac Fairview logistics joint venture in Australia and a potential levelling off of South Korea’s housing market.
ESR Acquires 38 Acres in Gujarat, Will Invest $49M to Build Industrial Park
ESR Group has acquired 38 acres (15.4 hectares) of land in Gujarat and will invest INR 400 crore ($48.8 million) to develop an industrial and warehousing park on the site.
The project, located at Sanand in the western Indian state, will have a development potential of 1 million square feet (92,903 square metres), Hong Kong-listed ESR said. Read more>>
Blackstone-Backed Nexus Select Trust to Double Mall Portfolio in 5 Years
India’s Nexus Select Trust plans to double its portfolio of shopping malls in the next four to five years to 20 million square feet (1.9 million square metres) through acquisitions.
The REIT has acquired 17 shopping malls since the 2015-16 fiscal year and intends to grow its business inorganically. The Blackstone-backed trust has no plans to develop greenfield shopping malls. Read more>>
Cadillac Fairview Partners With Gateway on $670M Australia Logistics Fund
Sydney-based investment firm Gateway Capital has joined forces with Canadian real estate giant Cadillac Fairview to create a A$1 billion ($670 million) logistics fund focused on injecting capital along the east coast of Australia.
Dubbed Gateway Capital Urban Logistics Partnership (GULP), the investment vehicle will focus on established real estate in urban industrial and logistics markets with value-add opportunities and development plays. Read more>>
South Korea’s House Prices Fall at Slowest Pace in 5 Months
House prices in South Korea contracted for the 10th straight month in March, but with the pace softening to the slowest in five months, data showed on Monday.
The nationwide house price index fell 0.78 percent in March from the previous month, easing from February’s 1.15 percent reading and the slowest since October, according to the Korea Real Estate Board. Read more>>
Korean Firm Woomi Construction Invests in Fifth Wall’s Proptech Fund
South Korea’s Woomi Construction said Monday that it signed a contract to invest in global asset management company Fifth Wall’s Real Estate Technology III for Early Stage Ventures Fund, also called Fund III, on 31 March.
This decision comes as part of Woomi’s efforts to continue investing in property technology, or proptech, and expand its foothold in the global investment sphere. Read more>>
Lian Beng’s Lowball Privatisation Offer Flags Urgency of Low Valuations: Columnist
The controlling shareholders of Singapore-listed Lian Beng Group unveiled plans this past week to take the construction and property development company private at less than half its book value — using a well-known loophole related to compulsory acquisitions that the government has already decided to plug.
The independent directors of Lian Beng should ensure minority shareholders of the company are properly informed about the imminent changes in the law, of course. Yet, unless the IDs can also promise that Lian Beng will pursue a credible programme to improve the long-term market value of its shares if the company remains listed, many minority investors may well decide to just accept the lowball offer. Read more>>
China Property Crash Would Cap Growth at 3%: Bloomberg Economics
China’s economic growth would fail to top 3 percent over the next two years in the event of a property market crash where government stimulus is still not enough to offset the damage, according to a Bloomberg Economics analysis that underlines the importance of real estate to the nation’s recovery.
A 15 percent drop in property investment over the next year — which is not in Bloomberg Economics’ base scenario for growth — would create a “crash landing” that deals a “devastating blow to China’s economy”, economists Chang Shu, Eric Zhu and Ana Galvao wrote in a report that explored scenarios for a “sudden collapse” in the sector. Read more>>
Thailand’s Tricky Consignment Law Leaves Hongkonger Twisting in the Wind
Attracted by Phuket’s serene waters and its potential as a tourist destination, Hong Kong-based Swiss national Reda Abouhanine bought a unit in 2017 at an off-plan development a stone’s throw away from sandy beaches in the west of the famed island in Thailand.
Abouhanine did his due diligence and concluded the developer looked professional — it even provided a live stream for investors to monitor the progress in construction. He paid an upfront sum of $120,000 for a unit that cost $150,000, an investment he hoped to make a return on in two years. But construction came to a standstill in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. And never resumed. Read more>>
Tune in again soon for more real estate news and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.
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