
NPS boss Kim Sun-joo is ready to put more cash into real estate
Some good news for owners of large scale real estate assets leads today’s headlines in Asia, as one of the region’s biggest pension fund managers is directing $550 million in fresh cash toward the property sector. Singapore also makes it into the news as prices for both home purchases and rental properties continued their upward trends in May. And the battle for China’s flexible office market continues with the impending opening of the first WeWork Labs in Shanghai. All these stories and more await you in today’s cruise through the headlines.
Korean Pension Fund Manager Awards $550M in Real Estate Mandates
Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has awarded three mandates totalling KRW 600 billion ($550 million) for investment in real estate in a drive to lift its exposure to alternative assets.
The mandates have gone to three Korean managers – IGIS Asset Management; Mastern Investment Management; and ADF Asset Management. Each manager receives KRW200bn to implement the NPS value-add and core logistics strategy. Read more>>
SG Home Prices Hit Record Levels in May
Prices of private condominiums and apartments continued their climb in May, hitting a new high although volumes dipped slightly, according to flash data from real estate portal SRX Property released on Tuesday (June 12).
This comes as the monthly price increase for April 2018 was revised sharply upwards to 1.2 per cent, from SRX’s earlier estimate of a 0.6 per cent rise. Read more>>
Housing Rental Rates on the Rise in Singapore
Rents in May inched up just 0.2 per cent month-on-month for both private apartments and HDB homes as the number of units rented out continued their decline, according to flash estimates released by real estate portal SRX Property on Wednesday.
Year-on-year, rents from non-landed private rentals increased 0.8 per cent, and the May showing was 18.9 per cent lower compared to its peak in January 2013. Read more>>
WeWork Labs to Open in Shanghai
WeWork is bringing its first WeWork Labs to China at its flagship location in West Nanjing Road, Shanghai on July 1. More locations in Beijing and other Chinese tech hubs will open soon, according to the flexible office operator.
As a part of their deeper dive into the country, the office-sharing giant is introducing its startup-focused program WeWork Labs to China to help the growth and global expansion of Chinese up and comers. The first China WeWork Labs is welcoming a lot of retailer technology startups, due in no small part to China’s new retail boom. Read more>>
Far East Organisation’s Oasia Hotel Downtown Named Best Tall Building
Oasia Hotel Downtown in Singapore’s Tanjong Pagar has been named this year’s Best Tall Building Worldwide by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), a global authority on tall buildings and future cities that confers the award annually.
The 27-storey skyscraper by developer Far East Organization and designed by award-winning architecture firm Woha features a plant-covered facade of red and green and outdoor communal spaces along its height, which CTBUH felt “connects to the green of the cityscape” and “provides respite and relief to its occupants, neighbours, and city”. 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.
Leave a Reply