OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman is eyeing an India expansion (Image: OpenAI)
The maker of ChatGPT is headed to India in search of someone to help it build a one-gigawatt data centre, with that story leading today’s review of real estate news from around the region. Also making the list is a more humble 103MW Korea data centre project for AWS, and the Cheng family behind Hong Kong’s New World would like to know if any of you have $1.3 billion to invest in the troubled developer.
OpenAI Scouting Partners for 1GW Stargate India Data Centre
OpenAI is seeking to build a massive new data centre in India that could mark a major step forward in Asia for its Stargate-branded artificial intelligence infrastructure push.
The ChatGPT maker is currently scouting local partners to set up a data centre with at least one gigawatt of capacity in the world’s most populous country, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named discussing private information. The site could be among the largest in India, where tech giants including Microsoft and Alphabet Inc’s Google — plus Asia’s richest man — have also invested in such facilities. Read more>>
AWS Breaks Ground on 103MW Korean Data Centre With SK
Amazon Web Services and South Korea’s SK Group have broken ground on the country’s largest AI data centre with plans to invest more than KRW 7 trillion ($5 billion) in the 103-megawatt facility.
The partners plan to have the 41MW first phase of SK AI Data Center Ulsan operational by November 2027, with the full 103MW project scheduled for completion by February 2029, according to local news reports. Read more>>
Hong Kong’s Cheng Family Looking for Partner for $2.6B Bailout of New World
New World Development’s controlling shareholder, the billionaire Cheng family, is considering injecting capital into the debt-laden builder as early as the end of the year, according to people familiar with the matter.
The family of Hong Kong tycoon Henry Cheng is willing to contribute HK$10 billion ($1.3 billion) and is seeking a partner that can provide a roughly similar amount for an equity stake, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. The plan under discussion would establish a joint venture to provide liquidity to New World, the people said. Read more>>
New World Confirms Loan Talks With Deutsche Bank
New World Development confirmed Monday that it’s in discussions about a loan facility led by Deutsche Bank, but the developer denied receiving any other funding proposals.
The firm did not reveal any other financial details about the loan facility being discussed with Deutsche, Germany’s largest lender. Bloomberg reported earlier, citing unnamed sources, that Hong Kong tycoon Henry Cheng’s family, also the firm’s controlling shareholder, was weighing a HK$10 billion ($1.3 billion) capital injection through a joint venture. Read more>>
Evergrande Liquidators Pursue Assets of Vanished Company Founder
China Evergrande’s liquidators are set to zero in on company founder Xu Jiayin during a court hearing Tuesday in Hong Kong, where they will push ahead with efforts to recover funds related to one of the world’s biggest corporate meltdowns.
While Xu, who has vanished from public view since being charged with “illegal crimes” two years ago, isn’t likely to attend the hearing, he remains a key figure in the ongoing case. Read more>>
CDL Completes Sale of Half-Stake in $2.1B South Beach Complex to IOI
City Developments Ltd announced to the Singapore Exchange on Monday that it has completed the sale of a 50.1 percent stake in the South Beach complex to Malaysia’s IOI Properties.
The deal gives IOI full ownership of the commercial components of South Beach, a six-building cluster comprising office and retail spaces, a 634-room JW Marriott hotel and 190 strata-titled luxury residences on Beach Road. Read more>>
Trades of APAC Hotel Properties Fall 23% in First Half
Hotel investors have turned more cautious in the first half of 2025, deploying less capital into the hospitality sector in Asia Pacific amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty.
APAC hotel transaction value stood at $4.7 billion in H1, 23 percent lower than the $5.7 billion recorded in the same period in the previous year, according to JLL. Read more>>
China Second-Hand Home Prices Fell 7.3% in August
China’s resale home prices fell again in August even as new home prices edged up, underscoring persistent weakness in the crisis-hit property market despite a raft of support measures, a private survey showed Monday.
Second-hand home prices dropped 0.76 percent in August from the previous month, after a 0.77 percent decline in July, and were down 7.34 percent year-on-year, according to China Index Academy, one of the country’s largest property research firms. Read more>>
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