Malaysian developer IWH is part of a consortium that invested in the Bandar Malaysia project
A Malaysian developer leads the way in Mingtiandi’s roundup of Asia real estate headlines with the news that the company is said to be considering an IPO that will raise up to $1.5 billion, after forming a consortium with China Railway Group to buy a 60 percent stake in the Bandar Malaysia transport hub development from scandal-hit state investor IMDB.
In other news around the region, the government of one Asian country has moved to steady the market amid an oversupply of homes, while a Singapore-listed developer has paid $14 million to acquire a plot in Australia to build senior housing accommodation.
Elsewhere, a mainland China co-working operator has opened three more locations under an “asset-light” strategy.
Builder of Ex-1MDB Project Weighs $1.5B IPO for Next Year
Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn. is considering an initial public offering as early as next year, partly to help fund the $33.5 billion Bandar Malaysia project, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company known as IWH is working with at least one adviser for the listing that may fetch a valuation of about 30 billion ringgit ($7.2 billion), said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the information is private.
Bandar Malaysia was conceived under 1MDB, and languished when the troubled state fund struggled to finance the development amid corruption investigations. 1MDB then sought to sell a major stake in the project to developers IWH and China Railway Engineering Corp., before canceling the deal amid a dispute over payments in 2017. In April, the government gave the developers another chance to revive the project in Kuala Lumpur. Read more>>
SG Govt to Keep Housing Land Sales Steady Amid Oversupply
The government is holding land supply for private homes steady for the first half of 2020, which should keep the residential market stable amid a big supply of unsold units.
It said on Tuesday that it will keep the supply of private housing units on the confirmed list for the H1 2020 government land sales (GLS) programme broadly similar to that for H2 2019. Read more>>
Thakral Pays A$20M for Senior Housing Plot in Australia
Singapore-listed Thakral Corporation is acquiring 46.4 hectares of land in Queensland, Australia to expand its development of “resort-style” retirement housing, with A$20 million ($14 million) committed to developing the property.
This acquisition is made through its GemLife joint venture for over-50s lifestyle resorts, adding to GemLife’s portfolio with a total of seven such resorts altogether. This is in line with Thakral’s investment division’s strategic decision over five years ago to invest in the retirement living space. Read more>>
Hong Kong Luxury Retailer Bluebell Seeks Rent Relief
The Bluebell group, Asia’s largest distributor of luxury brands, is asking Hong Kong landlords to share the pain by scrapping the base rent in shopping malls, saying a slump in tourist footfalls will push even more retailers out of business in the coming months.
The group may have to give up two of its 22 stores in 19 malls across the city because short-term rent reduction cannot cover operating costs in stores where sales have plunged as much as 60 per cent during six months of anti-government protests, president and chief executive Ashley Micklewright said. Read more>>
Ucommune Unveils a Trio of “Asset-Light” Co-working Spaces
Ucommune, China’s co-working community operator, has opened new co-working spaces in Yanjiao Town Fudi Plaza, Sanhe, Hebei Province; Minmetals Happiness Lane in Beijing.
Ucommune’s latest spaces provide a hub for entrepreneurs and thought leaders to innovate and collaborate. “The ‘Asset light’ style of management is an innovative approach that allows us to rapidly expand our footprint in China,” said Dr. Daqing Mao, founder and chairman of Ucommune. Read more>>
Protests Force Bar Owner in Hong Kong’s Lan Kwai Fong to Quit Lease Early
A rooftop bar and restaurant at the California Tower in Hong Kong’s popular Lan Kwai Fong district is closing.
Ce La Vi, a luxury restaurant with a sky deck known for its sweeping views of the city, asked for an early termination of its lease in January, several months before the agreement was set to end in June, according to Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Holdings Ltd, which counts the 27-floor California Tower among its properties. Read more>>
Moon Ready to Do More to Curb South Korea’s Rising Home Prices
President Moon Jae-in came into office in 2017 pledging to rein in South Korea’s runaway housing prices. Progress towards that goal has brought an unintended consequence: slower growth.
But the measures have failed to stop dramatic price gains in affluent neighborhoods like Gangnam, where apartment prices rose more than 20 per cent during the two and a half years under the current administration, but they have had some broad benefits. 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