Mirae Closes in on $5.5B Anbang Luxury Hotel Portfolio and More Asia Real Estate Headlines 

Trophy assets lead the way in Mingtiandi’s roundup of real estate headlines today with the news that a South Korean group now leads the pursuit of a troubled insurer’s luxury hotel portfolio, with the offer said to be in the region of $5.5 billion.

In other news around the region, the 73-year-old former chairman of developer Wheelock speaks out against the protests in Hong Kong, while a Singapore REIT secures $140 million in debt to fund a property acquisition, and a Hong Kong media baron sells a Sydney mansion that has been on and off the market for ten years.

Elsewhere, a Paris-headquartered hospitality management giant signs a lovely hotel deal in Singapore.

Mirae Closes in on $5.5B Anbang Luxury Hotel Portfolio

South Korea’s Mirae Asset Financial Group is emerging as the leading bidder for a portfolio of 15 US luxury hotels being sold by troubled Chinese insurer Anbang Insurance Group Co, people with knowledge of the matter said.

An affiliate of Mirae is working to arrange financing and reach an agreement on the terms of a purchase, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. An acquisition by the South Korean asset manager could value the 15 properties at more than $5.5 billion, one of the people said. Read more>>

Hong Kong Property Tycoon Bows to Beijing, Appeals to Protestors

Billionaire businessman Peter Woo Kwong-ching has called on Hongkongers from all sides to stop resorting to violence as the city continued to be gripped by ferocious clashes and bitter division.

Woo, 73, became the first tycoon to issue the direct appeal after hundreds of business leaders and pro-Beijing politicians were asked by mainland China officials last week in Shenzen for their support in safeguarding Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability. Read more>>

Cromwell E-REIT Secures €125M Debt Facility

Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust’s (Cromwell E-Reit) subsidiary, Cromwell EReit Lux Finco Sarl, has entered into a €124.8 million euro ($140 million) note issuance agreement with ING Bank NV and Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank.

The note issuance facility comprises a €104.5 million facility and a PLN 87 million ($23 million) facility to fund value-added tax payment in relation to the acquisition of a property in Poznan, Poland until it is recovered from Polish tax authorities, the Reit’s manager said. Read more>>

Hong Kong Media Baron Sells Sydney Mansion for A$16.8M

Coal miner Chris Ellis and Sydney Angels investor Sandrina Postorino have been revealed as the new owners of a A$16.8 million ($11.4 million) waterfront mansion in Sydney’s eastern suburbs that was sold by Hong Kong media baron Ching-Kwan Ma.

C K Ma, who also goes by the name of Walter Marr on corporate documents, sold the five-bedroom harbour front residence in Watsons Bay in June after it had been on and off the market for ten years. Read more>>

Korea Offshore Property Funds Exceed KRW 3T for the First Time

Funds designed to invest in overseas properties have grown popular in South Korea as retail investors have recently joined institutional investors in hunting for high returns amid a prolonged low interest rate environment and slump in local stock markets.

According to Seoul-based market tracker FnGuide, assets in funds investing in offshore real estate reached KRW 3.07 trillion ($2.5 billion), exceeding the KRW 3 trillion mark for the first time with a net flow of KRW 287.8 billion won over the past month alone. Read more>>

Accor Signs Singapore Love Hotel Deal

Accor Hotels caught the Singapore hotel industry by surprise with its latest deal with Global Premium Hotels, which operates Fragrance Hotel, a low budget brand that has a tinge of sleaze as many of its properties rent by the hour and are commonly used for sex.

These so-called love hotels exist everywhere in the world; Singapore is no exception. In the Lion City, the two kings of this segment are Fragrance Hotel and Hotel 81, each now boasting more than 20 low budget properties throughout Singapore’s neighborhoods, some even in or near the city centre. Read more>>

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