PAG in Talks to Buy Sydney Office Tower From Dexus and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Asian investment heavyweight PAG leads today’s list of real estate news from around Asia Pacific with news that the Hong Kong-based company is conducting due diligence on the potential acquisition of an office tower in Sydney. Also making the headlines is a report of Blackstone delaying its exit from one of its India REITs and Hong Kong raising interest rates in step with the latest increase by the US Federal Reserve.

PAG Targetting $266M Investment in Dexus Sydney Project

Hong Kong-based private equity group PAG is in due diligence to acquire a more than A$400 million ($266 million) office tower on Market Street in Sydney from local investment manager Dexus, in what some analysts see as the latest example of a major reset in Australia’s office market, which is being led by deals for Sydney assets.

The impending transaction in the city’s central business district is likely to be struck at about a 15 percent discount to earlier values, indicating that local office markets may have dodged the worst of global woes hitting the sector. Read more>>

Blackstone Said to Delay Exit From Embassy Office Park REIT in India

Private equity firm Blackstone has put its plans to offload stake in Embassy Office Parks REIT on the backburner and wait for a better exit pricing.

“We will eventually exit, but not right away,” Senior MD and head of real estate acquisitions in India for Blackstone, Asheesh Mohta, said. He added that the exit price and valuation had to be right for the company to make a profitable exit. The last time it sold stake in the REIT was in September last year when it offloaded 8 percent in block deals raising about INR 27 billion ($331 million). Read more>>

Hong Kong Raises Rates in Step with US Fed Increase

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on Thursday, following the US Federal Reserve for what may be the final hike of its tightening campaign.

Hong Kong’s base rate was increased to 5.5 percent from 5.25 percent, according to a statement from the HKMA on Thursday. The rate moves in line with the Fed’s benchmark in order to protect the local dollar’s peg to the greenback. Now attention will turn to any moves the city’s biggest banks – including HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc – will announce later in the day, including changes to their best lending rates. Read more>>

EdgeConnex India JV Breaks Ground on Hyperscale Data Centre

To boost the local technology ecosystem in India’s Andhra Pradesh state, AdaniConneX, a joint venture between EQT’s EdgeConnext data centre division and local conglomerate Adani is developing an integrated data centre and technology business park in the city of Visakhapatnam.

The facility which will incorporate a data centre with a technology and business park as well as a skill development center will be the first of three technology zones that the joint venture has planned for the city and one of the largest hyperscale parks in India. AdaniConneX said it will open new gateways of growth in the region, connecting the city halfway between Chennai and Kolkata with regional IT networks. Read more>>

Frasers Logistics and Commercial Trust Cuts Distributions by 8.6%

Frasers Logistics and Commercial Trust posted an 8.6 percent decline in distribution per unit (DPU) to S$0.0352 for its first half ended Mar 31, from S$0.0385 the year before. Revenue fell by 11.7 percent to S$208 million for the half year, from S$235.7 million previously, FLCT’s manager said on Thursday.

The Singapore-listed REIT attributed the lower DPU to foreign exchange weakness against the Singapore dollar, as overseas assets in Australia, Europe and the UK represented 90.2 percent of FLCT’s portfolio value. Read more>>

ARA US Hospitality Trust Says Property Income Up 19%

ARA US Hospitality Trust achieved higher Revenue of $36.2 million in the first quarter of 2023, up 10.2 percent year-on-year. Gross operating profit and net property income rose to $10.5 million and $6.4 million for the same period, respectively, an increase of 20.1 percent and 19.0 percent compared to the first quarter of 2022. GOP margin for the portfolio was also higher at 29 percent from 27 percent the year before.

While occupancy rates remain slightly below pre-pandemic levels, as corporate and group travel continue their recovery post-COVID-19, strong increases in average daily rates have boosted revenue per available room the company said. Read more>>

Hana Financial Plans More M&A in Quest to Join Global Heavyweight Division

Hana Financial Group plans to step up its globalization efforts to become a globally leading finance firm with customized strategies suited to each market with its business spanning from banking to securities brokerage services. As of the end of 2022, Hana Financial Group had expanded across 25 countries, with more than 4,500 employees overseas.

According to the group, its global profit has been increasing every year by an average of 15 percent over the past four years. In 2022, the group’s global revenue stood at KRW 712.7 billion ($532.2 million), up KRW 25.6 billion from the year before, taking up roughly 20 percent of the total revenue. With 2023 being a time of rate hikes, stubborn inflation and the possibility of a global recession, Hana’s says its global business will focus on risk management through portfolio rebalancing. Read more>>

Industrial Building in Singapore’s Eunos Area on the Market for $45M

Zhaolim Building, a six-storey high-specification industrial building at 115 Eunos Avenue 3 in Singapore, is up for sale at a guide price of S$60 million ($45.2 million), according to an announcement by Cushman & Wakefield, which is marketing the property.

The property is located on an 83,071 square foot plot of land and has a gross floor area of about 207,678 square feet. The land has a 60-year tenure that starts from Feb 1, 1980. As such, there are approximately 17 years left to the lease. Read more>>

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