Oei Hong Leong

Singapore billionaire Oei Hong Leong wants to be big in data

Leading today’s news, one of Singapore’s richest men is going big on data, or at least on the buildings that house it, while Australia picks up 4.6 billion baht by selling its Bangkok embassy site to a local developer. Also in the headlines, Evergrande’s chairman turned his company’s debt-fueled expansion into a spot as China’s richest man – for a few hours. Read on for all these stories and more.

SG Tycoon Investing $5B to Build Data Centre Empire

Tycoon Oei Hong Leong is investing US$5 billion (S$6.73 billion) to set up a new company, named One Belt One Net, that will build data centres.

As the name implies, Mr Oei envisions the business as a way to complement China’s One Belt One Road initiative, a massive project to ignite growth in the countries along the ancient Silk Road. Read more>>

HNA Says It Has “Sufficient Capital for HK$27B in Kai Tak Projects

HNA Group, the Chinese conglomerate that spent HK$27.2 billion (US$3.5 billion) for a stake in Hong Kong’s residential land market, said the group’s financial health is sound and its sees no problem getting loans to fund its mega property project in Kai Tak.

“Our lending banks show strong support to us. We have sufficient capital to finance the project,” said Liu Junchun, vice chairman of the conglomerate’s private unit HNA Holding International Investment Group. Read more>>

Bangkok’s Aussie Embassy Site Sold for THB 4.6B

Supalai Plc has won the bid to buy the eight-rai prime site on Bangkok’s Sathorn Road where the Australian Embassy was previously located for 4.6 billion baht, according to its chairman.

At this price, the property developer valued the plot, totalling seven rai and 382 square wah, at 1.45 million baht a sq w. It is 70m wide and 180m deep, with an exit to Suan Phlu Road in the back. Read more>>

CLSA Says Mainland Demand Could Boost HK Home Prices Still Higher

Hong Kong’s property market could experience a significant demand boost if a small fraction of new home buyers in mainland China cast their attention to the city, according to CLSA.

Demand for Hong Kong homes could surge by 10 per cent if 1 per cent of the transaction value of new homes in tier one cities in China were to redirect towards Hong Kong, said Nicole Wong, managing director of property research at CLSA. Read more>>

PE Investment in Indian Real Estate Could Hit $4B in 2017

Private equity investment in India’s real estate sector is estimated to rise by 30 per cent to USD 4 billion this year on the back of DLF-GIC joint venture in a rental arm, says realty consultant Knight Frank. PE investment in real estate was USD 3.1 billion last year, it said.

“Private equity investment in 2017 is estimated to exceed USD 4 billion this year, well past the 2015 mark,” Knight Frank said. In 2015, PE investment stood at USD 3.5 billion. Read more>>

Evergrande Boss Becomes China’s Richest Man – Briefly

Hui Ka-yan, 58, chairman of property developer China Evergrande, became China’s richest man – unseating Tencent’s Ma Huateng and Alibaba’s Jack Ma Yun – for a day.

The Henan-born Hui’s wealth advance has been driven by an extraordinary rally in Hong Kong-listed Evergrande’s share price. The country’s largest home builder by sales has seen its shares soar over 480 per cent so far this year, the biggest winner among all the mainland China property stocks listed in Hong Kong. Read more>>

Singapore’s Great Room to Expand Co-Working into Bangkok

Co-working space The Great Room is opening a second location here and also expanding into Bangkok – its first overseas venture.

The brand is also exploring more regional growth opportunities, with seven new locations planned next year, co-founder and chief executive Jaelle Ang, 37, told The Straits Times. Read more>>

Mainland Homebuyers Head to Southeast Asia for Bargains

An increasing number of Chinese homebuyers are snapping up properties in Southeast Asian countries, with many of them attracted by the high returns and beautiful scenery. Several homebuyers the Global Times spoke to on Sunday shared one common reason why they are eyeing properties in Southeast Asia.

“I am always attracted by beautiful islands, and it would be nice to stay there occasionally,” said a Chinese investor surnamed Huang who now lives in Changzhou, East China’s Jiangsu Province. He has already reserved two apartments in the Philippines and in Thailand, and the sales will start at the end of this year. Read more>>

Public Housing Residents in SG Complex Hope to Sell Their Homes for S$2B

Braddell View, the largest of Singapore’s 18 former HUDC estates, is planning to jump on the collective sale bandwagon, just months after it was privatised.

The 918-unit development is holding a meeting on Oct 10 to form a collective sale committee to kickstart the process. Read more>>

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