Shui On Sees Sales Slump in First Two Months of 2018 and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

At the top of today’s news, Shanghai-based Shui On Land didn’t sell off any projects in the first two months of the year, causing some dismal looking results for the Xintiandi developer. There’s better news in Singapore, which was ranked number fifth globally as a real estate investment destination by the world’s monied class, according to a new report. And Lego is planning to roll out more shops for its plastic bricks in China following double-digit sales growth last year. Keep on reading for all these stories and more.

Shui On Land Posts 26% YoY Plunge in Property Sales in Jan-Feb

Hong Kong-listed developer Shui On Land said Wednesday its contracted property sales fell 26 percent year on year in the first two months of 2018 on lower commercial property sales.

In the Jan-Feb period, the company recorded contracted property sales of RMB 660 million ($104.39 million) as compared with RMB 888 million a year ago, it said in an exchange filing. Residential property sales stood at RMB 653 million, while commercial property sales was just seven million yuan. Read more>>

Singapore Ranked Third Favourite for Asian Investors

Singapore remains a favoured destination for property investments among the world’s ultra wealthy, taking fifth spot in a global ranking published in The Wealth Report 2018 by Knight Frank. It was the third-most favoured country for Asian investors, after Britain and the United States.

The rankings were taken from an attitude survey within the report. Singapore also took fifth spot, the only Asian city among the top five, in the City Wealth Index, a ranking of the cities that mattered most to the ultra wealthy. Read more>>

Lego Plans More China Stores Amid Strong Sales Growth

Danish toymaker Lego reported strong double-digit growth in China last year, despite the fact that the group reported a seven percent year-on-year decline for its annual sales revenue globally in 2017, according to the group’s fiscal results released on Tuesday.

With the robust growth in China, the group’s CEO Niels B. Christiansen said the company will continue to open more stores in China, showing its commitment of further expanding its presence in the market. Lego says its brand stores will be a promising distribution channel in the upcoming years in China, while e-commerce platforms and traditional toy retailers will be the other two important distribution channels for Lego. Read more>>

India’s Prestige Group Planning Mid-Income Housing Portfolio

Prestige Group is planning to build a new mid-income housing portfolio in India’s largest property markets National Capital Region (NCR) and Mumbai, according to a report in Mint.

The company is in talks for a central project development in Mumbai and has signed a 25 acre land deal in Noida for mid-income housing. Other new projects in Pune and Hyderabad are also being considered. Read more>>

Standard Chartered Poised To Sell Real Estate Unit to Actis

Standard Chartered has reached a provisional agreement to sell its real estate investment unit to private equity firm Actis, the bank’s Chief Financial Officer Andy Halford told Reuters on Wednesday.

Reuters reported last November the two companies were in talks over a possible sale of the business, which has around US$700 million in investments across Asia and Africa. Read more>>

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