Hong Kong Finance Minister Paul Chan has been listening to his developer constituency
In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, Hong Kong’s government backtracks on its planned six-month rent moratorium, Chinese developer Shimao reports slumping sales at its Shanghai-listed unit, and proxy advisors sign off on the proposed merger of ESR-REIT and ARA Logos Logistics Trust.
Hong Kong Finance Minister Halves Rent Relief Period to 3 Months
Hong Kong’s finance minister has halved the “protection period” for tenants to three months during which landlords cannot evict them for failing to pay rent as part of changes to a proposal featured in this year’s budget address.
The revised rent relief scheme will also allow landlords to defer property rate payments and offer protections from banks if they fail to repay mortgages or other loans as a result of tenants being unable to pay rent. Read more>>
Sales at Shimao’s Shanghai-Listed Unit Sank 62% in February
Chinese developer Shimao Group said property sales at its mainland-listed subsidiary slumped last month, piling further financial pressure on one of the country’s top real estate companies.
Contracted sales at Shanghai Shimao sank 62 percent to RMB 1 billion ($158.4 million) in February from a year earlier, according to a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Read more>>
Singapore New Home Sales Fell 27% in February
New home sales sank in February in the absence of major new launches. Chinese New Year festivities and the declining inventory of unsold new homes also dampened sales during the month, analysts said.
“Some developers were holding back their new project launches until the current wave of Omicron COVID-19 infections has subsided,” said Nicholas Mak, head of research and consultancy at ERA Singapore. Read more>>
Proxy Advisors Give Cautious Nod to ESR-REIT Offer for ALog
Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis have recommended that unitholders of ARA Logos Logistics Trust vote in favour of the merger with ESR-REIT, based on the revised terms of the offer.
Both ISS and Glass Lewis had in January recommended that unitholders vote against the merger on grounds that the process had been “questionable” and that the offer price was unfair to ALog Trust unitholders. Read more>>
Lendlease to Announce Australia Build-to-Rent Projects
Lendlease will announce its first build-to-rent projects in six to 12 months as it expands the pool of assets it will tap outside investment to create and nearly double its funds under management to A$50 billion ($36.5 billion) within five years.
In his first interview as head of the newly created Australia division, Dale Connor said BTR was one of several product lines — including life sciences, healthcare and data centres — by which the company planned to boost local funds under management from the present A$28 billion. Read more>>
Singapore’s Immigration Controls Won’t Cool Rents This Year
Singapore is tightening the screws on how many expatriates it will let in — and of which nationalities. But is that bad news for the financial centre’s condominium landlords? Not necessarily.
That’s because, unlike in the past, it isn’t your average expat that’s driving the rents higher in the financial centre. Excess local demand in the public housing market is spilling over into condo rentals. Read more>>
RBC Investor Services Trust Singapore to Retire as Keppel REIT Trustee
The manager of Keppel REIT said it received a letter of intention from RBC Investor Services Trust Singapore to retire as trustee of the REIT on Tuesday.
RBC is intending to cease provision of trustee services for all authorised collective investment schemes in Singapore, Keppel REIT Management said. Read more>>
Beijing Latest Chinese City to Report Improved Land Sales
China’s land sales reported a slight recovery last month after the introduction of easing measures across the country.
Beijing, which finished its first round of land sales on 16 and 17 February, fetched RMB 48 billion ($7.6 billion) or 73 percent more than in last year’s third round. Land in China can only be sold three times a year, according to a centralised scheme introduced by the central government in early 2021. Read more>>
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