Vacancy in Hong Kong’s Central has reached 8.5% as the district loses its shine
Hong Kong’s priciest district leads Mingtiandi’s roundup of Asia real estate headlines as the average vacancy level across the once red hot office market has soared to 8.5% – its highest since 2009.
In other news around the region, the chief executive officer of a US private equity giant says office buildings will survive COVID, while a unit of a Hong Kong developer has applied for a licence to manage distressed loans in mainland China.
Elsewhere, a sports and media unit of mainland developer Wanda has seen its losses double during the pandemic.
Office Vacancy in HK’S Central at Highest Level Since 2009
Hong Kong’s office landlords are facing the biggest crunch in a decade as rents slide and vacancy rates in the city’s notoriously pricey market reached the highest level in a decade.
About 1.1 million square feet (102,193 square metres) of space in Central business district would have been vacated by businesses by the end of last month, CBRE estimates. Imagine a totally empty HSBC headquarters, or two blocks of One IFC Tower. At 8.5 per cent, the vacancy rate is the highest since December 2009. Read more>>
Pandemic Will Not Be the End of Office Buildings, Brookfield CEO Says
The coronavirus pandemic will not be the end of office buildings, Brookfield Asset Management Chief Executive Bruce Flatt said on Wednesday.
Office workers globally have shifted to working from home during the pandemic, with Gallup reporting that 62% of employed Americans in April had worked from home during the crisis, double the number in March. Read more>>
New World Unit Seeks to Manage Distressed Chinese Debt
NWS Holdings, a unit of one of Hong Kong’s biggest property developers New World Development, has applied for a licence to manage distressed loans in China, according to people familiar with the matter.
NWS has submitted the application to the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission for a permit in southern Hainan province, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the matter is private. Read more>>
Japan’s Mitsui Fudosan JV Buys RM 242M Serviced Residence Block
Japan’s Mitsui Fudosan and BBCC Development Sdn Bhd are buying a block of serviced apartments at the Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) development for RM 242 million ($57 million).
Mitsui Fudosan’s unit Mitsui Fudosan (Asia) Malaysia Sdn Bhd (MFAM) and BBCC Development formed a joint venture (JV) company to buy the block. MFAM will hold 51 per cent and BBCC Development 49 percent in the JV company, called MFBBCC Serviced Suites Sdn Bhd. Read more>>
Wanda Sports Losses Double During Pandemic
Stock in Wanda Sports Group was trading down 10 percent by midday Tuesday after the company announced a revenue decrease and doubled losses for the first quarter, weakened by the coronavirus outbreak.
The Beijing-based company said on Tuesday that its revenue in the first quarter was $180.3 million, down 25 percent year-over-year. Net loss in the three months through March mounted to $26.5 million, or 13 cents per share, up 179 percent from one year ago. Read more>>
Exploration Deck Opens at Raffles City Chongqing
A 250-metre-high Exploration Deck which offers 270-degree panorama views of Chongqing’s skyline at Raffles City in China is now open to visitors.
“The Exploration Deck is the first major attraction to launch in Chongqing since the lifting of the country’s nationwide lockdown and the public’s enthusiastic response is yet another encouraging sign of recovery in consumer sentiment,” said Lucas Loh, president, China, CapitaLand Group. Read more>>
HNA’s Swissport Says Belgium Unit to File for Bankruptcy
Swissport Belgium SA/NV, a loss-making unit of Swissport International AG which provides ground services at Brussels airport, will file for bankruptcy after attempts to turn around the business failed, Swissport said on Monday.
Its Belgian cleaning business will also file for bankruptcy, but the group’s separate cargo business in Brussels and Liege is unaffected, Swissport added in a statement. Read more>>
Tune in again soon for more Hong Kong news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.
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