Barings Buys Sydney Industrial Estate From Goodman and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

A set of Sydney sheds leads Mingtiandi’s look at real estate news from around the region today, with Barings having picked up an industrial estate in the New South Wales capital from Goodman. Also making the headlines today is Singapore’s Keppel selling its remaining holdings in a pair of data centres to its SGX-listed digital infrastructure REIT and CapitaLand teaming with local titan UOL to lead bidding for a development site in the Lion City. 

Barings Buys Sydney’s Smithfield Industrial Estate From Goodman for $50M 

Barings said on Wednesday that it has purchased the Smithfield Industrial Estate in Sydney via its fifth Real Estate Australia Value Add Fund (“BRAVA V”), adding a combined gross lettable area of 31,983 square metres (344,262 square feet) to its portfolio across a 56,995 square metre site.

The investment manager is purchasing the western Sydney  industrial estate from Goodman Group for A$75 million ($49.7 million) according to local news reports, bringing its fund to A$686 million in assets. Read more>>

Keppel Sells Remaining Stakes in Singapore Data Centres to DC REIT for $39M

Asset manager Keppel announced on Tuesday  that its connectivity division has agreed to sell its stakes in two data centres for cash consideration of S$50.5 million ($39 million) to Keppel DC Real Estate Investment Trust.

The remaining stakes held by Keppel are the 10 percent interest in data centre Keppel DC Singapore 3 (KDC SGP 3), and 1 percent interest in another data centre, Keppel DC Singapore 4 (KDC SGP 4). The transactions are expected to occur by the first quarter of 2026. Read more>>

CapitaLand, UOL Team Up to Lead Bids for Singapore Development Site at $1.12B

A large mixed-use site in Singapore’s Hougang Central drew three bids when its tender closed on Tuesday (Dec 16), with a joint venture between CapitaLand and UOL group companies putting in the top bid of S$1.5 billion ($1.12 billion) or S$1,179 per square foot of built area. 

The bids came in above analysts’ expectations for S$800 to S$1,000 per square foot for the 4.7-hectare site that will house an integrated project with 835 residential units and over 430,000 square feet  of commercial space – nearly double the size of Hougang Mall. Part of the project will be located above the existing Hougang MRT station and must also be integrated with a bus interchange. Read more>>

Perennial Launches Chongqing Healthcare Project

Perennial Holdings on Monday launched its latest mainland China healthcare development project with plans to build 140,000 square metres in an initial phase at an investment of RMB 1.5 billion.

Perennial Healthcare City is being jointly developed adjacent to the Chongqing East high-speed rail station under a joint venture with Chongqing Transportation Development and Investment Group Co., Ltd (“Chongqing Transportation and Investment Group”) and China Railway Construction Group Co. Read more>>

Garbe Sets Up Saudi Logistics Joint Venture

Garbe Industrial, a leading developer and manager of logistics and light industrial real estate in Germany and Europe is teaming up with Saudi builder Artar under a memorandum of understanding to develop logistics facilities in Saudi Arabia.

The joint venture will focus on delivering premium-grade warehouses and distribution centers in key economic hubs, including Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam. Over the next five years, the partnership aims to develop several international-standard logistics properties. Read more>>

Singapore’s UOB Seen Facing Pressure From Loans on Hong Kong, Mainland China Real Estate 

A large wager on Hong Kong and China real estate is backfiring on one of Singapore’s top banks, which is facing mounting troubles in the region’s deteriorating property markets.

United Overseas Bank Ltd. over the years financed real estate abroad including hillside luxury homes in Hong Kong, a five-star hotel overlooking the city’s central harbor, shopping malls and a Shanghai life science park. It also lent to Chinese developers. More than 40 percent of the loans its Hong Kong branch made were property-related as of June, a higher concentration than some other banks in the Chinese territory. Read more>>

China Vanke Shares Plunge as Default Looms

China Vanke Co. shares are headed for their sharpest quarterly drop on record as worries over the developer’s financial health intensify amid talks with creditors to extend payment on its 2 billion yuan ($284 million) bond.

The firm’s Hong Kong-listed shares have tumbled more than 35 percent since the end of September, making it one of the worst performers on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. Its losses are more than double the drop on a gauge of Chinese real estate firms. Read more>>

Singapore Bungalow Set to Sell for $114M

A huge Good Class Bungalow (GCB) property on Singapore’s Peirce Road, jointly owned by the daughter of Metro founder Ong Tjoe Kim and the grandniece of Tan Kah Kee, is in the process of being sold for S$148 million ($114 million).

The transaction, now at the option stage, would be the biggest GCB deal since a Nassim Road house on a similarly sized plot was sold for S$230 million in 2019. Documents show the buyer to be Victor Soh Chooi Lai, who leads boutique property developer Pinnacle Assets. Read more>>

Tune in again soon for more real estate news and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on X, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.