Sun Hung Kai Properties chairman and managing director Raymond Kwok
Hong Kong’s recovering office market leads today’s look at real estate news from around Asia Pacific, with a top European insurer pondering a move to West Kowloon. Also making the list are a potential new owner for a stalled Los Angeles development and Japan’s Mitsubishi Estate ramping up plans for Australia.
AXA Said in Talks to Lease 3 Floors in SHKP West Kowloon Project
With UBS set to move into Sun Hung Kai Properties’ International Gateway Centre later this year, AXA Insurance is now in talks to lease three floors in the West Kowloon project, according to local news reports.
The French insurer has offered to lease 100,000 square feet (9,290 square metres) in the office project above the West Kowloon high speed rail terminus, with rents in the project said to average HK$45 ($5.75) per square foot — representing a discount of more than 50 percent compared with top properties across the harbour in Central district. Read more>>
SoCal Developer Strikes Deal With Lendlease to Revive LA’s Oceanwide Plaza
The bankrupt Los Angeles project dubbed “Graffiti Towers” is being acquired by a joint venture of local developer KPC Group and Lendlease for a total consideration of $470 million, according to a court filing Monday.
Oceanwide Plaza, whose developers spent $1.2 billion, has been stalled since 2018, when the Chinese-based builders ran out of money. It was tagged by graffiti artists in 2024, earning its nickname, before being forced into bankruptcy. Read more>>
Mitsubishi Estate Plans More Aussie Investments After $12.7B in Deals
Mitsubishi Estate Asia, which has invested in Australian real estate projects worth more than A$18 billion ($12.7 billion), will ramp up activity in housing as current investments mature and it looks to reinvest capital.
The local arm of Tokyo-listed Mitsubishi Estate focuses on development opportunities — partnering with Aussie developers on early-stage projects that have yet to secure development approval or before construction — before selling down its interest. Read more>>
Lendlease Stock Hits 4-Decade Low After Reporting Loss
Australia’s Lendlease swung to a first-half loss on Monday, pressured by impairments and a fall in the valuation of its foreign properties, sending its shares to a near four-decade low.
The write‑downs were a major drag on the results but were not an outlier given the global property backdrop, said William Taylor, chief operating officer at ETFshares. “Most of the pressure is coming from offshore assets in the US, UK and Singapore, where higher rates and softer leasing conditions continue to weigh on commercial valuations,” Taylor said. Read more>>
Gold Dealers Take Over Hong Kong Storefronts as Bullion Booms
The surge in gold prices has brought a wave of new investment-focused bullion retailers to Hong Kong’s prime shopping areas, adding a distinct segment alongside traditional jewellery merchants.
These retailers — which sell gold coins and bars, rather than ornamental pieces — have taken up ground-floor store spaces that were left vacant during the city’s post-pandemic recovery. Their rapid expansion has been followed by the return of high-end jewellery vendors, a development that has helped stabilise rents in some of the city’s most expensive districts. Read more>>
Amazon Opens Office for 7,000 Staff in Bengaluru
Amazon has officially opened its second-largest office in Asia — and its second-largest single-building corporate office globally — in Bengaluru. The 1.1 million square foot (102,193 square metre), 12-storey campus will house more than 7,000 employees across e-commerce, operations, payments, technology and seller services.
The new campus features adaptable workspaces organised into “neighbourhoods”, with meeting rooms, huddle spaces, breakout zones and event areas that can host over 200 people. Employees will also have access to recreation facilities including basketball and pickleball courts, an amphitheater, landscaped lawns and outdoor community spaces. Read more>>
Trump Deal Seeks to Build Australia’s Tallest Tower on Gold Coast
The Trump Organisation has struck a deal to build Australia’s tallest residential tower on the Gold Coast after years of false starts and broken promises.
The Trump brand has been linked to Down Under properties since the mid-1980s, when Donald Trump made an unsuccessful bid to build and operate Sydney’s first casino at Darling Harbour. Now the Trump Organisation and Queensland’s Altus Property Group plan to deliver a branded hotel and tower on the Gold Coast, a scheme that has been the brainchild of local developer David Young for almost two decades. Read more>>
Blackstone’s Crown Plans $141M Renovation of Melbourne Casino
Crown Melbourne is set to undergo an A$200 million ($141 million) renovation, as the Blackstone-owned casino operator attempts to offset an easing of its revenue from big-spending gamblers in its casinos by pivoting its focus to improving its restaurants and hotels.
The redevelopment’s construction has already begun, and staged openings across the new and renovated venues will begin from mid-2026 through 2027, with the project representing the first major works to the flagship Southbank property in nearly 30 years. Read more>>
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