WeWork India Seeks $200M for Expansion and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

WeWork India’s boss has said co-working is not “suddenly dead”

Co-working India-style leads the way in Mingtiandi’s roundup of real estate headlines today with the news that the India franchise of the struggling US flexible space giant is looking to raise $200 million to fund its expansion drive.

In other news around the region, China’s largest local co-working provider is said to be headed for a December IPO, a South Korean brokerage has committed $450 million to a housing finance platform in India, and a Singapore developer’s profit surges after the merger of its REITs.

Elsewhere, Christmas may be cancelled in one Hong Kong shopping mall, and a budget hotel chain launches 250 inns in Thailand.

WeWork India Seeks $200M for Expansion

The chief executive of WeWork’s India franchise is seeking to raise $200 million by the end of the year to fund an aggressive expansion, claiming that the business is “isolated” from the IPO debacle in the US.

Karin Virwani, who has run WeWork India since 2017, said that “people should know that co-working is not suddenly dead”. WeWork India is wholly owned and operated by the Embassy Group, a real estate company owned by Virwani’s billionaire father, Jitendra, and backed by Blackstone Group. Read more>>

Ucommune IPO Said on Way in December

Ucommune, the largest rival to WeWork in China, plans an initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S. in December even as the better-known competitor still recovers from its botched listing, according to people familiar with the matter.

The first-time share sale of the Chinese office-sharing provider could raise about $100 million, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing private matters. The four-year-old company is considering a public IPO filing as soon as the week after next, one of the people said. Read more>>

China Property Sales and Investment at 3-Month Low

China’s property investment and sales growth both eased to a three-month low in October, suggesting a critical pillar of the economy is softening, but new construction surged in a sign developers are rushing to promote sales.

Some analysts say overall signs of weakening in the property sector could give provincial governments an excuse to loosen curbs as economic growth slows to near 30-year lows. Read more>>

Meritz Commits $425M to Housing Finance Platform in India

Meritz Securities has committed $425 million to a housing finance platform in India as an anchor investor, in its first foray into the country’s residential real estate market.

Mumbai-based financial services firm Edelweiss Group will launch the platform in partnership with Meritz, aiming to raise as much as $1 billion over the next 12 months, according to investment banking sources. Read more>>

OUE Posts Surge in Profit after REIT Merger

OUE Limited’s third quarter net profit surged to S$124.1 million ($91 million), almost 60 times that of the S$2.1 million net profit for the same period last year.

The increase was due to higher earnings before interest and taxes and a one-off non-cash gain of S$90.9 million arising from the merger of OUE Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (OUE C-REIT) and OUE Hospitality Trust (OUE H-Trust). Read more>>

Ayala Pays $237M for 20% Stake in Yoma Group

Ayala Corp is investing up to $237.5 million in Myanmar’s Yoma Group, marking the biggest investment by a Philippine company in Myanmar.

Ayala announced the landmark deal in a statement yesterday that confirmed the acquisition of a 20 percent stake in both of Yoma’s holding companies — Yoma Strategic Holdings and First Myanmar Investment Public Co Ltd. Read more>>

Oyo Opens 250 Hotels in Thailand

The budget hotel chain Oyo has officially launched its brand with 250 franchises across Thailand.

Oyo Thailand offers 8,000 rooms at 250 hotels in 13 cities, including Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and Hua Hin. Mandar Vaidya, chief executive for Southeast Asia and the Middle East at Oyo, said that while Thailand is a relatively new market for Oyo, it will grow to play a significant role in the growth of the business in Southeast Asia. Read more>>

Tune in again tomorrow for more news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.

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