Amazon to Invest $15B in Cloud Computing in Japan and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Amazon Web Services leads Mingtiandi’s headline roundup today with a plan to invest $15 billion in expanding its cloud computing infrastructure in Japan by 2027. Also in the news, Ascott and CapitaLand Investment see strong potential in Japan and the property management division of developer China Jinmao announces its $44 million acquisition of a Beijing-based rival.

AWS Committing $15B to Expand Cloud Computing in Japan

Amazon Web Services is planning to invest JPY 2.26 trillion ($15.2 billion) in expanding its cloud computing infrastructure in Japan by 2027.

As part of the investment, the company will seek to expand its data centre facilities in Tokyo and Osaka. The cloud giant previously invested JPY 1.51 trillion between 2011 and 2022 in the country. Yearly, this works out at just under $1 billion spent per year. The new announcement will see this increase to more than $5 billion a year for the next three years. Read more>>

Ascott Sets Sights on Japan Market to Fuel Growth

The Ascott Ltd, Singapore-listed CapitaLand Investment’s lodging business unit, sees strong potential coming from Japan, a market poised for further growth post-pandemic.

Ascott has some 2,900 units in 22 operating properties spanning five cities in Japan. This is more than double the size of its previous portfolio of Japanese properties, before its acquisition of serviced apartment provider Oakwood Worldwide from Mapletree Investments in the second half of 2022. Read more>>

Jinmao Property Services Buying Runwu Jiaye for $44M

Jinmao Property Services has agreed to acquire Beijing-based residential property manager Runwu Jiaye for cash consideration of RMB 323 million ($44 million).

The property management subsidiary of mainland developer China Jinmao Holdings said the acquisition of Runwu, which managed nearly 8 million square metres (86 million square feet) of mainland properties, would help to enhance its brand and expertise in the area of property services for villas in core cities and commercial projects. Read more>>

ESR-Logos REIT’s Senoko Loop Redevelopment Attains TOP Status

ESR-Logos REIT’s built-to-suit redevelopment project at 21B Senoko Loop has obtained temporary occupation permit status, the trust’s manager said Monday.

The property will be leased to NTS Singapore on a triple net basis for 15 years with built-in rental escalations. It will be responsible for utilities, maintenance expenses, property tax and land rent. Read more>>

Blackstone Dives Deeper Into Housing With $3.5B Tricon Deal

Blackstone is betting some of the money from a record-breaking fund on rental housing, a corner of the real estate market it knows well.

The company’s $3.5 billion deal to buy Tricon Residential, a Toronto-based landlord, will plunge the asset manager deeper into a single-family rental industry it helped create more than a decade ago. The transaction signals that the undersupplied housing market remains an attractive target for investors as dealmaking picks up. Read more>>

Chinese Bad-Debt Managers Downgraded by Moody’s as Huarong Cut to Junk

China’s largest bad-debt managers suffered rating downgrades as Moody’s Investors Service cut China Huarong Asset Management to junk status over concerns about the property crisis.

Huarong’s long-term rating was reduced one notch to Ba1. Three other peers — China Great Wall Asset Management, China Orient Asset Management, China Cinda Asset Management — also had their ratings cut Friday by one to two notches. Read more>>

Korean Builder Shinsegae to Sell Debt as Liquidity Woes in Focus

Korean builder Shinsegae Engineering & Construction will raise KRW 200 billion ($149 million) from the sale of bonds as it seeks to shore up liquidity, just days after a competitor started debt restructuring.

The company, part of a retail-focused conglomerate spun off by Samsung Group, will sell the debt securities in a private placement. Financial institutions are set to buy 70 percent and a group company the remainder, according to a statement on Friday from the firm. Read more>>

Vietnam Reforms Land Law, Expects Better Year for Troubled Property Market

Vietnam’s National Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to pass long-delayed revisions to the Land Law, which covers key areas such as market-based land pricing and land revocations.

On Thursday, 432 out of 477 lawmakers voted in favour of the amendments on the third and final day of an extraordinary parliamentary session. Read more>>

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