JD.com chairman Richard Liu (Getty Images)
A challenging market debut for JD’s logistics management division leads today’s look at real estate news from around Asia Pacific as JD Industrials slides on the HKEX. Also making the headlines are Japanese investment in Australia’s housing sector and a potential sale of a Melbourne landmark.
JD Industrials IPO Raises $383M, Stock Falls in HKEX Debut
Shares of Jingdong Industrials, the supply chain unit of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, fell in their Hong Kong trading debut after a HK$2.98 billion ($383 million) initial public offering.
The stock declined as much as 10 percent on Thursday before paring the loss. Its performance is being closely watched amid growing scepticism in new listings after a banner year for initial public offerings in the financial hub. Read more>>
Marubeni Backs Ashe Morgan-Mizuho BTR Project in Melbourne
Japan’s Marubeni Corp, together with Australian real estate investment and asset management firm AsheMorgan, Haseko Corp and Mizuho Leasing, has joined the District Living build-to-rent project in Melbourne’s Docklands area.
Through the project, Marubeni aims to establish a strong presence in Australia, which has the highest population growth rate among developed countries and the world’s second-largest REIT market after the US. The company is targeting JPY 300 billion ($1.9 billion) in assets under management in Australia by the 2030s. Read more>>
Australia’s IFM Set to Sell Melbourne GPO Building for $59M
Melbourne’s historic GPO building is in the sights of a Sydney developer that is in talks to buy it for A$88 million ($58.6 million) as its longtime owner checks out.
The sale of the historic complex, which was H&M’s first Australian flagship store, has been on the cards for more than two years. Owned by property fund manager ISPT, which has now been subsumed within the larger IFM Investors empire, the complex on the corner of Bourke and Elizabeth streets is one of Melbourne’s best known. Read more>>
New World Parent Chow Tai Fook Selling Aussie Utility for $4.3B
Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, the parent company of embattled Hong Kong builder New World Development, is selling Australian utility Alinta Energy to a Singapore-based group for A$6.5 billion ($4.3 billion).
Sembcorp Industries will acquire 100 percent ownership of Alinta and its units, as well as Latrobe Valley Power and its subsidiaries, from Pioneer Sail Holdings, which is owned by CTFE and Pioneer Sail Singapore, according to Sembcorp’s filing with the Singapore Exchange on Thursday. Read more>>
Empyrion Wins Approval for First Malaysia Data Centre
Singapore-headquartered Empyrion Digital this week announced regulatory approval for both the electricity supply agreement and data centre task force application for its first data centre campus in Malaysia.
Located in Nusajaya within the SiLC Industrial Cluster of Johor, the project is Empyrion Digital’s largest investment to date and sixth data centre development in Asia. Designed as a 200-megawatt-plus campus, MY1 will comprise five 40MW buildings developed in phases to meet surging demand for high-performance computing, AI and cloud infrastructure in Southeast Asia, with the first phase to be ready for service in the fourth quarter of 2026. Read more>>
Hilton Brings Curio Collection to Japan With Kyoto Partnership
Hilton announced the signing of its second Curio Collection by Hilton hotel in Japan in partnership with Brighton Corp. The Kyoto Brighton Hotel will convert under Curio Collection by Hilton and is scheduled to open in the winter of 2028.
Brighton currently operates four hotels, including Kyoto Brighton Hotel and Urayasu Brighton Hotel Tokyo Bay, and has a track record in hotel management in Kyoto. Upon completion of a full renovation, the newly rebranded hotel will mark the entry of Curio Collection by Hilton into the city, featuring 160 guest rooms, four dining outlets, a banquet space for up to 240 guests and a fitness centre. Brighton Corporation will continue to manage the hotel. Read more>>
San Francisco’s $1B Oceanwide Center Set to Sell for $95M
The bid to reboot downtown San Francisco’s largest and longest stalled development site is gaining steam, and could end with a steep discount.
The San Francisco Recovery Fund, a new investment vehicle focused on investing in languishing projects in the wake of the pandemic, is expected to close a deal next month to purchase the Oceanwide Center project at 50 First Street for $95 million, according to sources with insight into the transaction. This pricing represents a 92 percent discount to the more than $1 billion already invested in the Oceanwide Center project before construction came to a full stop in 2020, with only its foundation completed. Read more>>
Singapore Property Agents Buying Up 20% of New Condo Launches
Just before new private property projects are publicly released for sale, a quiet queue already forms — not made up of the developers’ VIP clients, but property agents. Buried in the past year’s surge in demand is data showing a concerning statistic: that agents bought up to 20 percent of units at certain “hot” launches.
While such activity does not breach regulations, some in the industry have voiced concerns that the “insider” buying crowds out the public, feeds into the fear of missing out (FOMO) and could encourage speculative activity. Read more>>
Tune in again soon for more real estate news and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on X, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.
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