Daiwa, Hillhouse to Launch $690M Japan Fund and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Japan’s Daiwa Securities is preparing to launch a real estate fund in collaboration with Samty and Hillhouse, with that story leading today’s headline roundup. Also making the list, China’s JD Property completes a Brisbane shed buy and Singapore’s GIC markets a Seoul office block.

Daiwa, Hillhouse to Launch $690M Japan Fund After Samty Buy

Daiwa Securities Group plans to launch a real estate fund with two partners, tapping investor demand for a piece of Japan’s booming property market.

The Japanese brokerage will collaborate with Osaka-based developer Samty Holdings and fund manager Hillhouse Investment, according to Daiwa’s Masatsugu Oishi. It aims to raise JPY 100 billion ($690 million) via a private fund for domestic and overseas institutions, said Oishi, who is general manager of asset management strategy. Read more>>

China’s JD Completes $153 Buy of ESR Brisbane Warehouse

JD Property, the infrastructure investment and asset management platform of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, has completed its acquisition of a 99,000 square metre (1 million square foot) distribution centre in Brisbane. The deal marks JD Property’s first project in Australia.

JD confirmed completion of the Queensland shed after Mingtiandi had reported the A$240 ($153 million) acquisition in April, with the Chinese group buying the asset from an ESR joint venture. Read more>>

Singapore’s GIC Puts Seoul Office Building on the Market

Singapore’s GIC has launched the sale of a mid-sized office building, Premier Place, in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun district.

Following the sale of The Exchange Seoul last year, the sovereign giant appears to be systematically offloading assets, including Premier Place and Seoul Finance Center. According to investment banking industry sources, GIC on Tuesday selected CBRE Korea and Deloitte Anjin as advisors for the sale of Premier Place. Read more>>

Hong Kong’s Parkview Said to Have Offered Picasso, Dali, Warhol Works as Loan Collateral

A Hong Kong property dynasty that became one of the city’s most prolific collectors is discovering the limits of the burgeoning world of art-backed lending.

The family behind Parkview Group, which narrowly avoided a default in March, sought a loan earlier this year from international auction house Sotheby’s, sources familiar with the matter said. It was to be backed by more than 200 artworks, from the likes of Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Chinese artists such as Yue Minjun, Qi Baishi and Zao Wou-ki, according to the sources. Read more>>

Hong Kong Government Says Property Market Set to Stabilise

Hong Kong’s property market is expected to stabilise at the current level with limited room for further adjustment, said Financial Secretary Paul Chan.

Chan expressed optimism that US interest rates are expected to gradually decline, which coupled with capital inflows into Hong Kong will lead to lower mortgage rates. Read more>>

China’s CIC Said to Back Away From $1B Private Equity Liquidation

China’s sovereign wealth fund has pulled its planned sale of $1 billion in US fund stakes tied to some of the biggest names in private equity.

Earlier this year, China Investment Corp looked to offload fund positions with firms including Carlyle Group, KKR and TPG to reduce its US exposure. Months later, it has signalled to would-be buyers and managers that it’s no longer selling the stakes, according to people familiar with the deal who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. Read more>>

SGX-Listed Frasers Centrepoint Trust Prices $156M in Perpetuals at 3.98%

Frasers Centrepoint Trust’s trustee HSBC Institutional Trust Services has priced S$200 million ($156.3 million) in subordinated perpetual securities at 3.98 percent under its S$3 billion multicurrency debt issuance programme.

The securities will be issued in denominations of S$250,000 each, and OCBC has been appointed as the sole lead manager, FCT’s manager said Tuesday. Read more>>

Dexus Backs Aussie Super Funds in Airport Battle

Property group Dexus has upped the ante in the rift engulfing the company that owns Melbourne and Launceston airports by agreeing to wear the legal costs for its superannuation fund allies which represent the so-called Dexus investor bloc.

The ASX-listed company has been at loggerheads with some of the country’s largest investors, including IFM Investors and the Future Fund, as they have attempted to force it to sell a 27.3 percent stake in the airports company. Dexus has been, in effect, ousted. The dispute in the NSW Supreme Court is set to drag out as the hearing had been pushed back from early August to between 10 and 21 November, with mediation on 3 November. Read more>>

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