Evergrande to Raise $2.1B for E-Commerce Site and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, mainland developer Evergrande looks to raise $2.1 billion ahead of an IPO for its online marketplace arm, Singapore-listed Ascendas India Trust will spend $198 million to acquire a pair of Bangalore buildings, and Hong Kong logistics giant ESR also has an eye on South Asia, scouting Sri Lanka for development potential.

Evergrande to Raise $2.1B Pre-IPO for Online Marketplace

China Evergrande Group on Monday said it would sell 10 percent of its online real estate and automobile marketplace, Fangchebao (FCB), to 17 investors for HK$16.35 billion ($2.1 billion), in a fundraising ahead of the unit’s IPO.

FCB, with a pre-financing valuation of over RMB 150 billion ($22.92 billion), could list on the NASDAQ or other suitable stock exchange, Evergrande said in a bourse filing. Read more>>

Ascendas India Trust to Acquire Two Bangalore IT Buildings for $198M

Ascendas India Trust will spend about INR 14.41 billion ($198.4 million) to acquire two buildings in an IT park located in Hebbal, Bangalore, as part of a forward purchase agreement with Gardencity Realty.

The total purchase consideration depends on certain factors, including final rentals achieved, the trustee-manager said in a bourse filing on Monday. Read more>>

ESR Looking to Build Logistics Parks in Sri Lanka

Stuart Gibson, co-founder and co-CEO of Hong Kong-listed ESR, one of Asia’s largest logistics property platforms, visited Sri Lanka recently.

ESR is said to be exploring investment and development opportunities to build modern, large-scale industrial and logistics parks in the country. Read more>>

Wheelock, New World Projects Proceed as HK Pushes Public Housing

Hong Kong is stepping up its efforts to provide more homes for the city’s poorest after approving another batch of so-called transitional housing proposals even as officials seek to revive the pandemic-ravaged economy.

The Town Planning Board on Friday signed off on a plan by Wheelock Properties to build 1,236 units to help bridge a demand and supply imbalance in public housing. The board had earlier approved 3,800 units to be built on sites leased from two other private developers last year. Read more>>

Shangri-La Asia Lost $460M in 2020

Shangri-La Asia on Friday posted a net loss of $460.2 million for its full year ended 31 December 2020, a reversal from a net profit of $152.5 million a year earlier.

Consolidated revenue declined 57.5 percent to $1.03 billion, as COVID-19’s impact on the international and domestic travel industries hit hotel operations severely. Read more>>

Hong Kong Home Prices Rose 0.9% in Feb, Fastest Pace in Nine Months

Hong Kong private home prices rose 0.9 percent in February from the previous month, their fastest pace of growth since May, official data showed on Monday, supported by improved sentiment that new coronavirus vaccines will speed up the economic recovery.

The gain in the most unaffordable property market in the world last month compared with a revised 0.2 percent increase in January. Read more>>

Yanlord Land Chairman Ups Stake in Group

Between 18 and 22 March, Yanlord Land Group founder, chairman and CEO Zhong Sheng Jian acquired 7,116,600 shares of the company for a consideration of S$8,478,541 ($6.3 million). At an average price of S$1.19, this took his direct holding in Yanlord Land Group from 4.27 percent to 4.64 percent.

Zhong also maintains a 66.19 percent deemed interest in Yanlord Land Group through his 95 percent ownership of Yanlord Holdings Pte Ltd, with Zhong’s spouse owning the remaining 5 percent of the holding company. Read more>>

Henderson Plans Restore Yuen Long Mansion in New Territories

Veteran Hong Kong filmmaker Alex Cheung Kwok-ming never imagined he would once again step into Kong Ha Wai, a historic mansion in rural Yuen Long, and revisit his childhood memories after he was unable to enter the site two decades ago.

The 27-room mansion, built by a Hakka gold merchant for his family in the 1930s, had seen better days, having survived the second world war and undergone big alterations after being used for factory operations decades ago. Now a major property developer is conserving the building for community use to complement a sizeable social housing project nearby. 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.