BOJ Holds Rates as Iran Clouds Outlook and More APAC Real Estate Headlines

In today’s review of real estate and investment news from around the region, the Bank of Japan holds rates steady as rising oil prices from the Iran conflict cloud its inflation outlook, Blackstone nears a final close on its latest Asia Pacific buyout fund at more than $12 billion, and Hong Kong’s Cheng family bets on a property rebound to ease New World Development’s debt burden.

BOJ Holds Rates at 0.75% as Iran Conflict Clouds Inflation Outlook

The Bank of Japan kept its benchmark rate unchanged at 0.75 percent after a two-day policy meeting, with eight of nine board members in favour. The central bank cited rising oil prices from the Iran conflict as a source of upward inflation pressure.

Dissenting member Hajime Takata advocated raising the rate to 1.0 percent, arguing that price stability had been achieved. Governor Kazuo Ueda said wage negotiations supported the outlook but currency movements required close monitoring. Read more>>

Blackstone Raises Over $12B for APAC Buyout Fund

Blackstone has gathered more than $12 billion for its latest Asia Pacific buyout fund, Blackstone Capital Partners Asia III, exceeding its target ahead of a final close in coming weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.

Around 90 percent of limited partners from predecessor Asia funds recommitted, increasing allocations by an average of 30 percent. The predecessor fund delivered a 41 percent net return and has already returned nearly 80 percent of committed capital. Read more>>

New World Development’s Cheng Family Bets on HK Property Rebound for Lifeline

Hong Kong’s billionaire Cheng family is betting on a revival of the city’s property market to ease debt pressure on New World Development, unwilling to cede control to an outside investor, people familiar with the matter said.

After negotiations with Blackstone, which proposed investing about $2.5 billion in a vehicle that would have made it New World’s largest shareholder, the Chengs believe a property rebound will reduce the urgency of striking a deal. Read more>>

CK Asset Reports $1.5B Pre-Revaluation Profit as UK Asset Sales Advance

CK Asset Holdings posted profit before investment property revaluation of HK$12 billion ($1.5 billion) for 2025, up 2.7 percent, the company said. Profit attributable to shareholders fell 20.3 percent to HK$10.8 billion, weighed down by a HK$1.1 billion revaluation loss.

The group sold its UK Rails interest in January 2026 and in February agreed to dispose of its 20 percent stake in UK Power Networks for HK$22.2 billion ($2.8 billion), while proposing a full-year dividend of HK$1.78 per share. Read more>>

JRE Buying Tokyo and Sapporo Office Buildings for $150M

Japan Real Estate Investment Corporation plans to acquire two office buildings for a combined JPY 23.7 billion ($149.7 million). The acquisitions include an additional 7.1 percent co-ownership stake in CoMoRe Yotsuya in Shinjuku from sponsor Mitsubishi Estate for JPY 15.5 billion.

The second deal covers full ownership of Sapporo Arch Building, a newly built nine-storey office in Sapporo’s city centre, for JPY 8.2 billion. JRE will fund the Tokyo purchase through new unit issuance and the Sapporo buy via loans. Read more>>

Alibaba Cloud Revenue Jumps 36% to $6.3B as Total Sales Edge Up 2%

Alibaba Group posted revenue of RMB 284.8 billion ($41.3 billion) for the quarter ended 31 December 2025, a 2 percent increase year-on-year, the company said. Excluding divested units Sun Art and Intime, underlying growth reached 9 percent.

Cloud Intelligence Group revenue surged 36 percent to RMB 43.3 billion ($6.3 billion), with AI-related product revenue recording triple-digit growth for the 10th consecutive quarter, the company said. AI interface Qwen surpassed 300 million monthly active users in the period. Read more>>

Seoul Monthly Apartment Rents Hit Record High as Listings Fall 26%

Monthly rent prices for Seoul apartments reached a record high in February, averaging KRW 1,515,000 ($1,011) per month, surpassing January’s record of KRW 1,504,000, according to real estate data firm Asil. Monthly rent listings fell 26 percent from the start of the year to 15,799.

The supply crunch stems from October 2025 regulations blocking gap investments — jeonse-backed property purchases — which prompted landlords to move in directly, halting new jeonse supply and pushing prospective tenants towards monthly rent. Read more>>

Australian Super Fund Bosses Bet Big on AI Infrastructure Opportunity

Chief executives and chief investment officers from Australia’s superannuation sector returned from a Silicon Valley and Washington DC tour convinced that AI infrastructure represents a major opportunity. Fund leaders managing more than A$3 trillion ($2.13 trillion) participated.

MLC chief investment officer Dan Farmer said meetings with AI technologists reinforced his view that compute demand is far from peaking. Australian super funds have A$712 billion in the US, a figure tipped to reach A$2.1 trillion by 2035. Read more>>

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