Link REIT is aiming to pick up 50% of the Queen Victoria building in Sydney
In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, Hong Kong’s Link REIT is reportedly seeking to buy half stakes in three Sydney shopping centres held by Singapore’s GIC, New World Development submits a plan to scrap and rebuild a defective part of a New Territories condo project, and Swire Properties opens its Taikoo Li Qiantan complex in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area.
Link REIT Said in Talks for Sydney Retail Assets
Hong Kong’s Link REIT is circling stakes in three trophy Sydney CBD assets — the Queen Victoria Building, the Strand Arcade and The Galeries — in a deal worth around A$550 million ($398.4 million), in a major vote of confidence in the city’s road map to normality.
It is understood that the Hong Kong-listed player is in due diligence to acquire half stakes in all three prime shopping attractions, which are held by Singaporean sovereign investor GIC. Read more>>
New World Submits Rebuilding Proposal for Defective Towers
New World Development has submitted a proposal to demolish and rebuild part of The Pavilia Farm project that has been marred by construction defects, a top executive said Thursday after the developer posted a full-year underlying profit increase of nearly 6 percent.
The Hong Kong-listed developer also said it was striving to help the government solve the city’s housing shortage. Read more>>
Scape Buys Sydney Student Housing for $69M
Student accommodation operator Scape Australia’s turbocharged growth has accelerated further with the acquisition of a three-building, 428-bed portfolio from the University of Technology Sydney for an amount understood to be about A$95 million ($69 million).
Scape — by far the largest operator of student accommodation in Australia — has spent almost A$3 billion in the past two years to buy the Urbanest and Atira portfolios and is set to spend another A$1 billion developing five properties near the University of NSW. Read more>>
Swire Opens Pudong Taikoo Li With Dior, Cartier Shops
Swire Properties opened its second mass-market commercial property in Shanghai’s emerging business district, drawing international brands ranging from Cartier to Dior to the city’s newest shopping landmark.
The 120,000 square metre (1.3 million square foot) Taikoo Li Qiantan complex, with 250 stores spanning fashion, dining, entertainment, health and lifestyle, and arts and culture, officially opened in Qiantan on Thursday. The complex in the Pudong New Area is dubbed Shanghai’s “second Lujiazui”. Read more>>
Singapore Private Home Prices Grew Nearly 1% in Q3
Property analysts expect Singapore’s private home prices to continue their growth trajectory for the rest of the year after rising for the sixth straight quarter in Q3.
Based on the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s flash estimates, the overall price index for private homes grew by 0.9 percent from the preceding quarter. Read more>>
Gramercy Says It Added Evergrande Exposure as Bond Prices Crater
Gramercy said on Thursday that it “added a small position” in China Evergrande Group bonds as prices have fallen to where there is a “compelling risk/reward”.
The investment manager specialising in emerging markets said the decision was made given bond prices dropping to near 30 cents on the dollar and Evergrande’s “substantial non-core assets … as well as the essential nature of the enterprise”. Read more>>
UOL Unit Secures S$540M Sustainability-Linked SORA-Based Loan
UOL Group’s wholly owned subsidiary UOL Treasury Services has secured a S$540 million ($397.7 million) sustainability-linked loan that is pegged to the Singapore Overnight Rate Average.
The five-year loan will be used for general corporate purposes and to refinance existing loan facilities, the property group said in a statement on Friday. Read more>>
China Tells Bankers to Support Property Market, Homebuyers
China has urged financial institutions to help local governments stabilise the rapidly cooling housing market and ease mortgages for some homebuyers, another signal that authorities are worried about fallout from the debt crisis at China Evergrande Group.
At a meeting chaired by central bank governor Yi Gang, authorities told financial institutions to cooperate with governments “to jointly maintain the steady and healthy development of the real estate market and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of housing consumers”, according to a statement by the People’s Bank of China late Wednesday. Read more>>
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