Google president and chief investment officer Ruth Porat
Tech goliath Google picks up a data centre site on the Malaysian coast south of Kuala Lumpur, with that acquisition leading today’s headline roundup. Also in the news, Japan’s NTT moves to take private its NTT Data unit and Frasers Property reports improving earnings.
Google Buys Malaysia Data Centre Site for $105M
Google continues to expand its digital infrastructure in Malaysia, with the US tech giant buying a data centre site in the coastal city of Port Dickson for MYR 455.2 million ($105.4 million), according to a stock exchange announcement.
Malaysia developer Gamuda Bhd said earlier this week that it had sold a 389 acre (157 hectare) plot originally purchased for data centre development to Google affiliate Pearl Computing Malaysia after having acquired the site for MYR 424.4 million in December. Gamuda is set to oversee the MYR 1 billion development of the project. Read more>>
Japan’s NTT Plans to Take Data Centre Unit Private for $16.4B
Japanese telecom Nippon Telegraph and Telephone plans to take subsidiary NTT Data private by purchasing the shares it does not already own for JPY 2.37 trillion ($16.4 billion).
NTT said it would launch a tender offer for NTT Data at JPY 4,000 a share, representing a 34 percent premium from Wednesday’s closing price. NTT Data’s shares were untraded on Thursday due to a glut of buy orders, ending at the daily-limit high of JPY 3,492, following a Nikkei newspaper report about the plan. Read more>>
Frasers Property Boosts Revenue by 2.7%
Frasers Property, the developer controlled by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, reported higher first-half profit as its Singapore residential business made up for a slump in Australia and China, along with higher interest payments.
Net income jumped to S$135.6 million ($104 million) in the six months to 31 March from S$35.8 million a year earlier, based on figures adjusted for distributions to perpetual securities holders, an exchange filing showed Friday. Read more>>
KKR Reimagines Property Business Under New Leadership
When KKR thought about the future of a unit investing in the most sluggish part of private markets, it turned to a hot sector.
Infrastructure head Raj Agrawal got the nod to oversee KKR’s real estate unit in addition to his own earlier this year, handing him a newly combined business totalling $171 billion at last count. Former global real estate head Ralph Rosenberg initially pitched the move, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing private deliberations. Read more>>
New World Said in Talks to Sell Manila Hotel to Ayala Land
Real estate watchers have been buzzing about what may be the next big takeover in the sector, with the Zobel family emerging as the star of the show.
Earlier this week, Ayala Land president and CEO Anna Maria Margarita Bautista-Dy confirmed to stockholders a plan to acquire a 500-key five-star hotel in Metro Manila. Although Dy did not divulge more details, she hinted at “forming new international hotel partnerships” as part of Ayala’s grand plans this year. Read more>>
Daiwa House S-REIT Sees Distributions Drop 9.9%
Daiwa House Logistics Trust announced Friday that its distributable income for the quarter fell 9.9 percent year-on-year to S$8.2 million ($6.3 million). The result was mainly attributed to increased interest expenses from additional borrowings, higher interest rates due to the refinancing and restructuring of loans, and lower realised exchange gains.
Net property income of the overall portfolio for the quarter stood at S$11.1 million in Singapore dollar terms, up 2.7 percent, in light of the acquisition of a cold storage warehouse in Vietnam last year as the REIT’s first foray in the country. Read more>>
Top Three Hong Kong Developers to Dominate 60% of Housing Sales
Three of Hong Kong’s biggest developers — Sun Hung Kai Properties, CK Asset Holdings and Henderson Land — are expected to dominate the housing market, as homebuyers increasingly prefer smaller flats amid economic jitters, according to JLL.
The trio were set to deliver 60 percent of new residential units in 2025 and 2026, up from 40 percent in 2023 and 2024, according to the property consultancy. Read more>>
Japan’s Isetan to Close Dept Store in Northeast Singapore
Department store operator Isetan Singapore, a subsidiary of Japan’s Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, will in November close its Tampines location in a major residential area in the eastern part of the city-state. The shutdown will leave the unit with just two stores, including its flagship location in the Orchard Road commercial area.
Isetan Singapore decided to close the Tampines store because its lease in the shopping mall there will expire. “We remain fully committed to Singapore and will continue serving customers at our other locations,” the company said Tuesday. Read more>>
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