Stonepeak Completes $1.3B Investment in PDG and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

More cash for data centres leads today’s look at real estate news from around the region with Stonepeak closing on its $1.3 billion investment in Princeton Digital Group. The parent company of Australia’s largest student housing provider also makes the news with the opening of its Korea office and New Zealand’s digital infrastructure market is the target of a takeover deal. 

Stonepeak Completes $1.3B Investment in Data Centre Platform PDG

US fund manager Stonepeak on Friday announced the close of its previously announced $1.3 billion preferred equity investment in Princeton Digital Group.

The commitment to PDG, which is also backed by Warburg Pincus, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and Mubadala, is Stonepeak’s third data center investment in Asia Pacific following previous deals with Digital Edge and other platforms, the company said. Read more>>

The Living Company Opens Office in South Korea

The Living Company, a leading Australian housing developer, on Thursday opened an office in Seoul to target South Korea’s residential market. The move prompted expectations that other global asset managers may follow suit to meet the growing demand for rental homes, given the increasing number of single-person households in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

The Living Company, which manages over A$13 billion ($8.5 billion) in assets, plans to focus on rental housing in South Korea through partnerships with local institutional investors, investment banking industry sources in Seoul said. Read more>>

Spark New Zealand Data Centres Said Valued at $357M in Takeover Talks

Pacific Equity Partners is in advanced talks to acquire a majority stake in Spark New Zealand Ltd.’s data center business in a deal that would value the assets at more than NZ$600 million ($357 million), the Australian Financial Review reported.

The private equity firm is expected to add a stake of between 50 percent to 70 percent of Spark’s data center business, according to the newspaper, which didn’t cite a source for the information. Spark in February confirmed it had begun a process to secure a partner to support future investment in its data center growth strategy. Read more>>

Brookfield Acquires Floor in Mumbai Office Tower for $42M

Brookfield Asset Management has acquired an additional office floor in the Godrej BKC commercial tower in Mumbai’s business district for INR 3.7 billion ($42.2 million), said persons with direct knowledge of the development.

With this purchase, Brookfield’s footprint in the 19-storey premium commercial tower now spans about 250,000 square feet (23,225 square metres) across three contiguous floors, along with exclusive parking rights. The deal also transfers Jet Airways’ seat on the building’s management board to Brookfield, giving it a greater say in operational and strategic matters concerning the property. Read more>>

Hong Kong Commercial Property Downturn Expected to Endure

Swiss bank UBS got a steal in 2003 when it leased 146,000 square feet across six floors in Two International Finance Centre – then the tallest building in Hong Kong – for less than HK$20 (US$2.55) per square foot. The landlords, MTR Corp and a consortium led by Sun Hung Kai Properties, signed the 10-year agreement as the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) was ravaging an already weak market.

Fast-forward a decade, and UBS had to pay five times more to extend the lease, thanks to a booming office market amid a blazing-hot economy. Read more>>

PWC Ranks Singapore Data Centre Market as APAC’s Slowest Growing

Land limitations, as well as policies that support green data centres in Singapore, have constrained the city-state’s data centre capacity growth, indicated a recent PwC report. Singapore’s data centre capacity is projected to have an compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8 percent between 2024 and 2028, the lowest rate out of 14 Asia-Pacific markets analysed in the report. 

However, it highlighted that the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (SEZ) could potentially be a model for data centre operators looking to set up their assets in dual locations. Read more>>

Mainlanders Dominate Hong Kong Luxury Home Purchases

Hong Kong’s super luxury property market has seen 35 transactions worth about HK$23 billion (US$2.93 billion) in the past 19 months, with ownership shifting from local property-industry tycoons to mainland buyers who have made their fortunes in hot industries, according to Savills.

Wealthy buyers from mainland China accounted for 80 percent of the deals worth HK$300 million or more – 24 in 2024 and nine in the first seven months of this year, said Thomas See, the property consultancy’s director and head of residential sales. Read more>>

Hong Kong Restaurants Closures to Continue as Consumers Cut Back

Tenant churn in retail properties in Hong Kong will continue in coming months, as prominent restaurants close but affordable eateries and fast-food chains thrive amid economic uncertainty and job insecurity among local residents, analysts said.

Hong Kong’s food and beverage (F&B) operators have taken a hit during the ongoing economic slump, which shrank retail sales for 14 straight months before a 2.4 percent rebound in May and a 0.7 percent gain in June, according to official data. Read more>>

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