Gemini Rosemont Makes $170M Silicon Valley Buy and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Silicon Valley leads the Mingtiandi roundup of Asia real estate headlines today, with news that a US subsidiary of Sino-Ocean controlled Gemini Investments has bought a $170 million office complex in California’s tech hub, while it’s spring sales time in London as a Singaporean real estate giant looks for a buyer for its $325 million landmark hotel just down the road from Buckingham Palace.

In other news around the region, Dalian Wanda Group has signed a deal for a $2.9 billion project in Guangdong, while a major US casino developer says it will pump over $2 billion more into Macao, and Charoen Pokphand Group is leading a new high speed railway in Thailand valued at $6.8 billion.

Read on for all these stories and more.

China-Backed Gemini Rosemont Buys Silicon Valley Complex for $170.5M

A big office complex in Santa Clara has been bought by a realty firm with ties to China in a deal that shows how a robust tech sector has bolstered sturdy investor interest in Silicon Valley.

Central Technology Park in Santa Clara, which has undergone a wide-ranging facelift by the seller in the deal, legendary developer The Sobrato Organization, was bought by Gemini Rosemont. Read more>>

Singapore’s CapitaLand Puts London Hotel on the Market for $325M

The owners of London’s Cavendish hotel in the upmarket St James’s neighbourhood hired brokers to sell the property for about £250 million ($325 million), according to people with knowledge of the appointment.

Singapore-based CapitaLand Ltd appointed Jones Lang LaSalle Inc to offer the 230-bedroom hotel, which stands opposite the iconic Fortnum & Mason department store on Jermyn Street, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the process is private. CapitaLand bought the property in 2012 for a reported £158.8 million. Read more>>

Wanda Signs Deal for $2.9B Chaozhou Tourism Project

Wanda Group has released more information about its 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) investment in a cultural tourism project, which includes theme parks.

The company has signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement with Chaozhou Municipal Government to cooperate on projects in culture, tourism, sports, film, TV, exhibition, and performing arts. Read more>>

Sands China in $2.2B Macao Casino Upgrade

Sands China last week unveiled plans to upgrade the 1,200-room Holiday Inn at Sands Cotai Central in Macau, rebranding it as The Londoner, a destination resort in line with its other European city-based brands, The Venetian and The Parisian.

The Londoner rebranding is part of a larger, $2.2 billion expansion plan, to be unveiled by Sands China, which develops, owns and operates integrated resorts, retail malls and casinos, in stages. To start with, the Holiday Inn will make way for the 600-suite Londoner. Read more>>

Charoen Pokphand Leads $6.8B Thai High-Speed Rail Project

Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) and 12 other companies were selected to build a $6.8 billion high-speed train project that will link three major airports in the country, the government said on Monday.

The committee, chaired by Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, chose a joint investor for the public-private partnership that required the lowest amount of investment from the government, the Eastern Economic Corridor Policy (EEC) office said in a statement. Read more>>

Japan’s Kajima Buys Poland Student Housing Assets for €60M

Kajima Student Housing Limited, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Kajima Corporation, has entered into partnership with Griffin Real Estate Partners (GRE) and acquired Student Depot, Poland’s largest provider of student accommodation, from Oaktree Capital Management for €60 million ($67 million).

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