WeWork May Pay $1B to Buy Out India JV Partner and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Shared space giant The We Company brought in $2 billion in fresh cash this week, but already $1 billion of that may be on its way out the door, as the New York-based firm formerly known as WeWork seeks to buy a controlling stake in its India joint venture. Also, in the news, the China-US power struggle may be hurting Donald Trump’s rental income as China’s ICBC is said to be cutting its footprint in New York’s Trump Tower and home purchase restrictions are back in style in the capital of Hainan province. Read on for all these stories and more.

WeWork Said Offering Up to $1B to Take Control of India JV

New York-headquartered shared workspace provider WeWork is holding talks to boost its stake in its Indian operation, which is currently managed by billionaire property developer Jitu Virwani of Embassy Group through a licensing deal, to at least 51 percent, people directly aware of the matter said.

Virwani and his team are scheduled to meet WeWork and its co-founder Adam Neumann in the third week of this month to discuss a potential $1-billion deal, they added. WeWork wants to take back control well before the licensing deal ends in 2021 after India emerged as one of the fastest developing markets. Read more>>

ICBC Said Planning to Cut Footprint in Trump Tower

Two of China’s New York power players are pulling back from Trump – Trump Tower, that is.

First, a big Chinese conglomerate, HNA Group Co., moved to sell a Manhattan office tower four blocks from Trump Tower after U.S. authorities raised national security concerns. A deal has finally been cut. Now, China’s biggest bank, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., plans to reduce its space in Trump Tower when its lease runs out in October, people with knowledge of the matter said, creating a potential headache for the Trump Organization. Read more>>

Haikou Rolls Out Fresh Home Purchase Restrictions

Haikou city in China’s southern Hainan province introduced a fresh round of restrictions on the sale of homes on Wednesday, weeks after three cities on the mainland eased their housing policies amid headwinds.

According to Shanghai Securities News, companies cannot buy homes and only residents who moved to the city before April 22, 2018 can buy more than one home. Official documents also reiterate strict compliance to prices agreed by the government. The Haikou government did not respond to requests for comment. Read more>>

Developer Shapoorji Pallonji Launches First Project in India’s NCR

Shapoorji Pallonji Group forayed into the National Capital Region (NCR) on Wednesday with the launch of the first residential project under its mid-income housing brand, Joyville, in Gurugram. The company plans to invest around Rs 1,200 crore to develop the project. This is the fourth project under the Joyville brand. It is already present in Kolkata, Virar and Pune.

In 2015, the group joined hands with Standard Chartered Private Equity, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to form the $200-million investment platform Joyville to build 20,000 homes across the country. Read more>>

JLL Predicts 5% Rise in APAC Investment Volumes in 2019

Global real estate consultancy firm JLL expects Asia Pacific’s overall real estate transaction volumes in 2019 to rise by 5% – although the pace of growth momentum will slow down.

In a statement, the firm said real estate demand in the region will continue to be fueled by its strong demographic fundamentals, with its urban population expected to exceed 400 million people by 2027 while its population aged from 65 years old will rise by 146 million people within the next 10 years. Read more>>

Singapore’s Leonie Gardens Owners Try Again for S$800M Collective Sale

Leonie Gardens joins a growing list of die-hard sellers trying their luck to go en bloc in the new year.

The prime District 9 condominium in Leonie Hill, whose collective sales agreement expires in May, relaunched its tender for a second time at the same reserve price of $800 million last month. The tender closes on Jan 22 at 3pm.

The 138-unit condo first launched for sale in May last year, and that tender closed without a bid on June 21. Read more>>

Tune in again after the weekend 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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