China Said to Pick New Head for Sovereign Fund and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Sovereign funds, Swiss banks and French châteaux feature in today’s real estate headlines from around the region as China’s CIC is said to have found a new chief among the ranks at the country’s Bank of Communications, and finance heavyweight UBS may be shifting its Singapore staff to new digs.

In other news, there may still be some life in China’s outbound investment boom as a mysterious tech investor branches out into fine bordeaux wine and its accompanying real estate assets, and Chinese Estates boss Joseph Lau seems to be taking a new interest in Hong Kong’s cross-border relations. Read on for all these stories and more in Mingtiandi’s headline roundup from around the region.

China Said to Pick New Head for Sovereign Fund

China has chosen a new chairman for sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC), two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, filling the top role after two years of vacancy.

Peng Chun, chairman of Bank of Communications (BoCom), will become CIC’s chairman, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. BoCom is China’s fifth-biggest lender.

“Chairman Peng has already left for CIC. BoCom will make a public announcement soon,” one of the sources said. Read more>>

UBS Said Moving SG Office to Suntec REIT’s 9 Penang Road Project

UBS is likely to consolidate its Singapore office footprint by relocating from One Raffles Quay and Suntec City to 9 Penang Road, according to a report in «Business Times» (behind paywall). Market sources said that the commercial terms of a potential lease for 9 Penang Road have been more or less finalized, but the deal is still pending for approval by the top brass in Switzerland.

The site, which is coming up on the former Park Mall site opposite Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station, would provide a different type of space for the bank. The motivation appears to be a desire by the bank to operate in a larger, campus-style, facility, rather than cost savings. Read more>>

Fugitive Chinese Estates Boss Joseph Lau Objects to New HK Extradition Law

Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau Luen-hung has applied for a judicial review of the proposed extradition law amendments in an apparent move to avoid serving jail time.

In a 44-page writ submitted to the High Court, the former chairman of real estate developer Chinese Estates Holdings (00127.HK) said amendments to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance would allow Hong Kong police to extradite him to Macau where he would have to serve a jail sentence, the Hong Kong Economic Journal reports. Read more>>

Hilton to Nearly Double APAC Hotel Footprint

One of the world’s biggest hospitality companies, Hilton, is set to almost double its footprint in the Asia-Pacific in the next five years, with 23 new properties planned in addition to the current 27.

Some are already in the pipeline, including a new 245-room Hilton in Sydney’s Parramatta to open in 2023 and a 600-room Hilton on Melbourne’s Southbank also in 2023, after a five-year absence of the brand in the city where the company first launched in Australia in 1969. In addition, there’ll be a new Hilton in Fiji’s capital Suva in 2022. Read more>>

“Asian Investor Mr Chen” Buys Pair of Bordeaux Châteaux

An investor identified only as Mr Chen has purchased a pair of châteaux in France’s Bordeaux region for an unspecified sum, according to information late last month from a French affiliate of Christie’s International real estate.

The apparent mainland China buyer is taking over the Château de Cadillac-en-Fronsadais as well as the Château Meillan from their Australian owner Richard Serisier, including all of their vineyards and stocks, according to accounts in the French wine industry press. Chen is identified only as an investor in technology, media and telecommunications. 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.

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