HK Home Sales Surge to Eight Year High and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

In our round up of what’s hitting the real estate headlines in Asia today, Hong Kong surges ahead with reports of panic property buying and dubious land payments, but drops behind in the race to be the best investment destination in the world.

Elsewhere, one of India’s biggest developers is transferring ownership in a shopping centre to meet its obligations in a joint venture with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, while there’s some interesting news about Singaporeans’ property fixation.

And in Beijing, builders may be returning to site after a standoff over US missiles with Seoul.

Hong Kong Pre-Owned Home Sales Surge To Eight Year High

Panic buying of Hong Kong property has extended to the secondary market, with sales of pre-owned apartments surging to an eight-year high.

Total sales of lived-in homes in April came to HK$40.3 billion ($5.1 billion), 38 percent higher than in March but falling short of the record HK$42.5 billion clocked in November 2010, data from Centaline Property showed. Read more>>

GIC JV to Benefit from $426M India Shopping Mall Deal

India real estate developer DLF said it has transferred a shopping mall in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, to a subsidiary for Rs 2,950 crore ($426 million) as part of efforts to settle dues of its joint venture with GIC. DLF has to pay Rs 8,700 crore to the DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL), which is a joint venture between DLF and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC. DLF intends to settle its dues by September this year through transfer of rental assets and land parcels.

In a regulatory filing, DLF announced that the company has transferred its property, Mall of India, Noida to one of its subsidiaries Paliwal Real Estate Ltd, in the ordinary course of business at an arm’s length consideration of Rs 2,950 crore, arrived on the basis of the valuation report of an independent valuer. Read more>>

Mumbai Investment Firm Sets Up $600M Real Estate Fund

Mumbai-based Axis Asset Management Company’s maiden real estate fund (Axis RERA Opportunities Fund – I) has signed its first deal to invest Rs 60 crore ($8.7 million) in a township project of Chennai-based developer Akshaya Pvt Ltd.

The structured debt investment has been made in Akshaya’s upcoming township project ‘Orlando’ in Kelambakkam, on Old Mahabalipuram Road and will fund construction. The project is expected to launch in the next 45 days. Read more>>

$2.6B Lotte Project Resumes after Beijing-Seoul Missile Row

Korean developer Lotte Group said on Thursday it would resume work on a $2.6 billion real estate project in China this month, after work was halted following the South Korean firm’s decision in 2017 to offer land in South Korea for a US anti-missile system.

The South Korean real estate giant has invested about 3 trillion won ($2.58 billion) in the project in China’s Shenyang where it plans to build a shopping mall, hotel, office block and apartments. The complex had been due for completion this year. Read more>>

 

Sun Hung Kai Accused of Bribery in 90s Village Land Case

Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) paid HK$3.15 million and offered land to representatives of Shan Pui Tsuen to counter opposition to its Yuen Long development in the 1990s.

Letters from lawyers, meeting minutes and other documents confirmed the existence of the agreement between Sun Hung Kai and village leaders. FactWire received an anonymous complaint claiming SHKP, which made the offer through a representative company, later reneged on their offer of land. Read more>>

Singaporeans Prefer Property to Parents

Singaporeans on average spend three times longer on property searches than on reading bedtime stories to their children, or speaking to their parents, data from an HSBC report shows.

According to HSBC’s 2019 Beyond the Bricks survey, Singaporeans spend an average of 3.29 hours each week on property-related window shopping, reading property magazines, and trawling through online listings, even when they are not in the market for a new home. Read more>>

London Pips HK for Runner Up Spot in List of Best Places to Invest

London has overtaken Hong Kong to take second place in a global ranking of cities with the most investment potential.

London rose to second place in the index compiled by asset manager Schroders, up from third place in 2017 and eighth place in 2016. Read more>>

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