WeWork Expanding India Co-Working JV to 22 Centres and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Leading today’s roundup, WeWork’s joint venture in India is poised to lease 2.1 million square feet of space for up to 22 new centres in three cities, as the US-based flexible office giant seeks an edge over local rival CoWrks. Also in the news, a Hong Kong financial services firm has closed on its acquisition of a refurbished commercial building in the City of London, while a Beijing-based business park builder is making progress on its office development in east London’s Royal Docks. And Beijing’s traffic is apparently so bad that even a multi-billionaire property tycoon is hopping on the subway. Read on for all the details.

WeWork Devours Space in India as Co-Working Battle Heats Up

WeWork and CoWrks, two of India’s biggest co-working space providers, are aggressively lapping up office properties in a bid to compete with each other in big cities. WeWork India, promoted by Bengaluru-based property developer Embassy group’s Virwani family, is a joint venture (JV) with WeWork of the United States.

CoWrks is promoted by another Bengaluru developer, RMZ’s Menda family. WeWork has leased five properties with a total of 670,000 square feet and plans to open two more centres next month — WeWork Vikhroli in Mumbai and WeWork Hebbal in Bengaluru. “We are looking at closing or are in the process of closing 700,000 square feet in the NCR for seven to eight centres, 800,000 square feet in Mumbai for six to seven and seven buildings in Bengaluru for about 600,000 square feet,” said Karan Virwani, general manager, WeWork India. Read more>>

Hong Kong’s Hao Tian Completes $182M City of London Buy

Hong Kong financial services group, Hao Tian Development Group, has completed a deal to buy the Corn Exchange in the City of London for £127.65 million (about $182 million).

The deal marks another Hong Kong entrant to the London market and sees Hao Tian pay vendor, Thai-Chinese Chinese group Reignwood Europe, around the asking price for the building at 55 Mark Lane, reflecting a yield of 5.1 percent. There is £93.48 million of debt secured against the building and the deal completed today. Read more>>

ABP Tops Out First Buildings in London’s Royal Docks

As Indian billionaire Subhash Chandra and the Essel Group make a surprise bid for Silvertown, on the other side of the Royal Docks, ABP is topping out its first buildings.

Less than 12 months after being given the keys to the 40-acre site on the north side of the Albert Dock, the first 635,000 square feet of space is nearing completion. The offices are set to open in 2019 with the arrival of Crossrail, and ABP chairman Xu Weiping says the tenants will include Chinese conglomerate CITIC and ABP themselves. Read more>>

HNA Hires Former US Commerce Official for Global Role

China’s HNA Group, the aviation-to-financial services conglomerate that is selling assets and restructuring operations, has hired a former US commerce department official for a senior strategy role.

Israel Hernandez, who most recently served as a senior adviser to US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, has joined the company as head of international corporate relations, HNA announced in a statement Wednesday. Hernandez will report to HNA Group CEO Adam Tan and focus on corporate and investor affairs for the conglomerate, which claimed more than half its more than $100 billion in revenue last year was earned overseas. Read more>>

Anbang Said in Talks with Investment Banks on Asset Sales

Anbang Insurance Group Co Ltd, previously one of China’s most aggressive buyers of foreign assets, is talking to investment banks as it seeks advice on possible asset sales, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter and who confirmed a media report.

The Chinese government in February seized control of Anbang and said its chairman had been prosecuted for economic crimes, as Beijing cracks down on risks to the country’s financial system. Read more>>

Wang Jianlin Spotted Riding Beijing Subway

Heads turned on the Beijing Metro when Wang Jianlin, one of China’s richest people, showed up as a fellow commuter. The founder of Dalian Wanda was spotted riding the Line 1 subway on April 9.

It is unclear why the business magnate — whose net worth is estimated at a whopping $30.4 billion — chose to ride the subway, but Chinese media believe that he was trying to dodge Beijing’s insane traffic. Read more>>

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