Blackstone Buys Half-Stake in India Hotel for $100M and More APAC Real Estate Headlines

Enthusiasm for India leads today’s look at real estate investment news from around Asia Pacific, with Blackstone upping its bets on the Subcontinent with a $100 million hotel deal. Also making the list are ad agency Dentsu selling its former headquarters in Tokyo’s Ginza and Bridge Data Centres sketching out plans for a broader regional expansion. 

Blackstone Buys Half-Stake in Taj Aravali Hotel From Ishaan for $100M 

Blackstone has acquired a 50 percent stake in the Taj Aravali Resort & Spa in Udaipur for an estimated $100 million to $110 million in a deal that closed in late December, according to local press accounts. 

The New York-based firm purchased the stake from Mumbai-based Ishaan Group, which plans to upgrade and expand the property to add 75 new keys. The enhancement plans also include rebranding as Taj Exotica Resort & Spa Aravali, as well as larger rooms and more suites. Read more>>

Dentsu Sells Former Headquarters in Tokyo’s Ginza for $190M

Dentsu Group late last month announced the sale of its former headquarters on Tokyo’s Ginza commercial strip for JPY 30 billion ($190 million) as part of a broader move to improve its business performance and returns for investors. 

The eight-storey building occupies a 696 square metre (7,492 square foot) site and was completed in 1933. Redevelopment of the site would allow for substantial expansion from the current building’s 5,800 square metres of space. Dentsu did not identify the buyer of the asset. Read more>>

Bain-Backed Bridge Data Centres Targets Expansion in Japan, Australia, Middle East

Bain Capital-backed Bridge Data Centres is planning a foray into the Middle East, Australia and Japan as data centre operators worldwide race to build hyperscale infrastructure for the fast-growing artificial intelligence sector.

The Singapore-based company, which also counts South Korea’s SK Group and Singapore’s Keppel as shareholders, is “actively engaging expansion plans”, said Bridge CEO Eric Fan. This includes assessing potential market-entry opportunities and exploring possible tie-ups with companies in the energy and infrastructure industries, such as power producers and grid operators. Read more>>

China Vanke Preparing Restructuring Plan

China Vanke is preparing a debt restructuring plan at the request of authorities, people familiar with the matter said, pushing one of the country’s largest developers closer to default.

Vanke, one of the few major Chinese property companies to avoid a debt failure so far, was recently asked by authorities to accelerate its overhaul and submit the plan as soon as possible, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. Normally a restructuring would lead to suspension of debt payments and result in a default. Read more>>

Singapore’s Temasek Invests $150M in US Home Renovation Lender

US home improvement lender Roc360 announced this past week that Singapore’s Temasek has invested an additional $150 million in capital in the company’s privately traded Roc360 Real Estate Income Trust.

The new commitment comes after Roc360 and Temasek jointly set up the fund in 2023, with the strategy targeting private transition loans for home renovations by real estate investors. Read more>>

Singapore Court Issues Summonses to Dasin REIT 2 Years After Last Report

Four subsidiaries of Dasin Retail Trust’s trustee-manager have received court summonses over breaches of the Companies Act. The trustee-manager, Dasin Retail Trust Management, said in a bourse filing last week that the subsidiaries are required to appear in court on 11 February to answer to charges involving breaches for the financial years ended 31 December 2022 and 31 December 2023.

Specifically, the charges relate to failures to hold annual general meetings within six months of the end of the two financial years, and to lodge annual returns with the Registrar of Companies within seven months of those same dates. Read more>>

Hong Kong Rules Out New Homes on Site of Burned Housing Estate

The Hong Kong government on Saturday said it had no plans to use the site of November’s Tai Po fire at Wang Fuk Court for residential use. Deputy financial secretary Michael Wong, who heads the task force on emergency accommodation arrangements for the estate, said developing community facilities at the location would be more appropriate.

“Even if we carry out the planning work at the same time that we tear down these blocks … it will still take at least nine years to complete the project, in which case residents will only be able to get their flats in 2035,” Wong said. Read more>>

China’s Hopu Faces Fundraising Challenges Amid Slowing Market, Succession Plan

For years, Fang Fenglei was Wall Street’s go-to fixer in China — a partner to heavyweights like Goldman Sachs who built one of Asia’s most prominent private equity firms.

Now, after a stretch of mediocre returns, subdued dealmaking and leadership churn at his Hopu Investment Management, even longtime backers like Temasek, GIC and China Investment Corp are rethinking their commitments, according to people familiar with the matter. Read more>>

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