IWG Eyes £315m War Chest to Fund Growth and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

A flexible office provider leads the way in Mingtiandi’s roundup of Asia real estate headlines today as the company formerly known as Regus looks to raise $389 million in a share offering.

In other news around the region, a Singapore property giant has completed the sale of a shopping mall in Zhengzhou for $119 million, while a real estate group from the same city has shelved a pair of projects in Australia.

Elsewhere, the founder of a Softbank-backed budget hotel group has said it does not need to raise any more capital because it has more than a $1 billion in cash reserves.

IWG Eyes £315m War Chest

IWG, the flexible office provider, intends to raise a £315 ($389 million) war chest in order to fund its growth and pursue the acquisition of rivals hit by the effects of coronavirus.

The company, formerly known as Regus, said that the virus and its impact on the office market presented “an increased number of attractive organic and inorganic opportunities to accelerate the growth and development of the business”. Read more>>

Hong Kong Home Prices Fell Again in April

Hong Kong homes prices dipped in April, with analysts predicting the market to come under renewed pressure from Beijing’s controversial plan to impose a security law tailor-made for the recession-hit city.

The index for used homes fell 0.13 per cent, according to data released by the Rating and Valuation Department on Friday. This reversed a 0.7 per cent gain in March. The gauge has now retreated 5.3 per cent from the peak in May last year. Read more>>

Singapore Launches Tender for Residential Site

A second residential site has been put up for sale by the Government, which is again giving developers more time to assess the property market amid the Covid-19 pandemic before submitting any bids.

The land parcel in Tanah Merah Kechil Link is for a mixed residential development with the first storey slated for commercial space. It has an area of 8,880 square metres (sq m) and a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 24,864 sq m. Read more>>

CapitaLand Completes Sale of Zhengzhou Mall for RMB 851M

CapitaLand Retail China Trust (CRCT) has completed the disposal process for CapitaMall Erqi.

The property was disposed of by the REIT for RMB 850.9 million ($119 million), which is a premium of 20% above independent valuations. Read more>>

Singapore’s Chip Eng Seng Mothballs Aussie Projects

Singapore-listed property powerhouse Chip Eng Seng has mothballed plans for a new Hyatt hotel in Adelaide and an ambitious apartment project in Melbourne as it waits out the coronavirus-caused slowdown.

Chip Eng Seng expects to post a first-half loss as it absorbs the impact of the pandemic. Its footprint extends across Singapore, Australia and the Maldives. Read more>>

China’s Bet on REITs Draws Sceptics

China’s plans to introduce real estate investment trusts (REITs) mark a crucial step to get private money to fund infrastructure such as toll roads and sewage systems, but the authorities have their work cut out in creating a fully-fledged market.

In many countries REITs are used as a means for investors to own property via the stock market, enjoying the income from projects such as tenanted office blocks, while allowing developers to free up their balance sheets for new ventures. Read more>>

Oyo Says it Has Capital Runway of 3-4 Years

Hospitality unicorn Oyo Hotels and Homes founder Ritesh Agarwal said the company has more than $1 billion in cash, which is enough to run its business for at least three more years without raising capital and clarified that the company does not plan to exit any of its markets at present, despite the collapse in the hotel business globally following the coronavirus outbreak.

“We have the necessary capital runway beyond 3-4 years, considering the cost restructuring and the minimal revenue estimates that we expect. We do not anticipate raising any more capital,” Agarwal said. Read more>>

Singapore Adds 11 Acres of Industrial Land Supply

The government has launched 4.4 hectares (11 acres) of industrial land across six sites under the Industrial Government Land Sales (IGLS) programme for the second half of 2020, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced on Thursday.

Three sites are on the confirmed list and another three sites, the reserve list. This is down from the three sites on the confirmed list and five on the reserve list for H1 2020, which amounted to a total supply of 7.11 hectares. Read more>>

Tune in again soon for more Hong Kong news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.

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