Guy Bradley will become chair of Swire Pacific and Swire Properties after joining the group in 1987
A Hong Kong-listed developer leads the way in Mingtiandi’s roundup of real estate headlines today with news that the company is making its first foray into Indonesia as protesters storm government buildings in its home city.
Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, the Singapore office market sees investment sales activity jump, while a sovereign wealth fund braces for low returns, and the Singapore Monetary Authority is considering raising the leverage limit of REITs to make them more competitive.
Meanwhile Mingtiandi’s geekier readers are rewarded with news of an APAC proptech incubator launch, and a low-income flat in Hong Kong sells for a record-breaking price.
Hong Kong Developer Swire Expands into Indonesia
Hong Kong developer Swire Properties said on Tuesday it will develop a luxury residential project in Jakarta, in its first foray into Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
It has formed a joint venture company, PT Jantra Swarna Dipta (JSD), with listed Indonesian developer Jakarta Setiabudi Internasional Group, for the development of the project in Dharmawangsa in South Jakarta. Read more>>
Singapore Investment Sales Rise 30.7% on Major Office Deals
Major office deals led the way to a stronger showing in the property investment sales market last quarter. The segment saw transactions worth S$5.85 billion ($4.31 billion), and rose 30.7 percent quarter-on-quarter.
This comes on the heels of a relatively lacklustre performance in the first quarter of 2019, which recorded transactions of S$4.47 billion. Office deals, which accounted for 47.1 percent of overall investment sales, surged 9.6 times to S$2.75 billion. Read more>>
GIC Braces for Low Returns Amid Trade War
Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd said it is now more cautious about the investing environment than it was last year and is bracing for low returns due to high valuations and slowing economic growth.
But while GIC, among the world’s biggest investors, is worried about heightened political and policy uncertainty, including the Sino-U.S. trade war, it is positioning itself to cushion the impact by investing in countries such as Vietnam which are benefiting from a shift in supply chains. Read more>>
SG Monetary Authority Mulls Raising 45% Reit Leverage Limit
In move to enable Singapore real estate investment trusts (S-Reits) to better compete against private capital and foreign Reits when making real estate acquisitions, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is considering raising their current leverage limit of 45 percent.
Leverage, defined as the debt-to-asset ratio, measures how well-capitalised a company is. The central bank on Tuesday published a consultation paper proposing amendments to the Code on Collective Investment Schemes, and invited the industry to give feedback on how the leverage limit can be recalibrated, among other things. Read more>>
Aus Govt Launches A$23M APAC Proptech Incubator
A A$23 million ($16 million) incubator programme for property start-ups, backed by the Australian government, is seeking to bring technology-led innovation and solutions to markets in Asia-Pacific, including Hong Kong.
RealTechX is an incubator programme that aims to bring together 10 start-ups with market-ready products or services. Launched by real estate innovation and venture capital firm Taronga Ventures, a part of Sydney-based investment house Taronga Group, the fund is accepting applications until July 31, with the first programme set to run from October 2019 to March 2020. Read more>>
Lionsgate Theme Park to Bring Hunger Games to China
Lionsgate Entertainment World will open on July 31 in Novotown Hengqin on Hengqin Island in Zhuhai, China. The Thinkwell Group-designed indoor, multi-story “vertical theme park” will include attractions, dining, and retail themed to Lionsgate franchises popular in China, including The Hunger Games, The Twilight Saga, The Divergent Series, Now You See Me, Gods of Egypt, and Escape Plan. Village Roadshow will operate the park.
Meanwhile, Parques Reunidos announced that it has cancelled plans for three Lionsgate Entertainment City projects, including ones in New York City and Madrid, Spain. Read more>>
HK$5.26M Record Price Paid for Low-income Flat in Hong Kong
A 598 square foot flat at Fung Tak Estate in Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon, has been sold for HK$5.26 million ($674,000), making it the most expensive public rental housing unit in Hong Kong, according to data from the Housing Authority.
The new buyer has shelled out more than 14 times the HK$370,000 the original owner paid for the flat in 1998. In the process, it broke the record set by a 544 square foot public housing flat in Lower Wong Tai Sin Estate in the same neighbourhood, which was sold for HK$4.56 million in May. Read more>>
Tune in again tomorrow for more news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.
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