Haidilao’s founders sold a lot of hotpots to pay for their Singapore digs (Getty Images)
In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, China-born billionaires make waves in the market for Singapore’s most expensive “bungalows”, Credit Suisse continues to suffer an exodus of bankers from its Hong Kong team, and data centre giant GDS eyes a further expansion in Malaysia.
Super-Rich China Hotpot Tycoons Pile Into Singapore’s Top Homes
As prices for some of Singapore’s most prestigious homes soar to records, the latest purchase by a China-born restaurant tycoon underscores just how strong demand remains among the world’s super-rich buyers.
Sean Shi, one of four co-founders of China’s largest hotpot chain, Haidilao, paid S$50 million ($35 million) for a so-called good class bungalow in a prime area near the Botanic Gardens in September, the Straits Times reported. It’s at least the third such luxury residence bought by one of the co-founders — at least three of whom are now Singapore citizens — or their family members. Read more>>
Credit Suisse Loses Five More Private Bankers in Hong Kong
Credit Suisse is struggling to halt departures from its private bank in Hong Kong, with more recent resignations amid the turmoil at the Swiss lender.
Luke Chiu, a managing director and China market leader, has resigned from the bank, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Read more>>
GDS Holdings in Talks for Expansion in Malaysia’s Johor
Fresh off its MYR 1.38 billion ($300 million) investment in Johor, Hong Kong-listed data management company GDS Holdings is already in talks for an expansion.
Johor investment, trade and consumer affairs committee chairman Lee Ting Han said the state government, led by Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, had met with the company’s representatives on Monday. Read more>>
Can China’s Economy Beat Its Property Addiction?
In late 2013, the Chinese Communist Party under new leader Xi Jinping unveiled a striking programme of reforms aimed at rebalancing the world’s second-biggest economy in favour of market forces and the private sector.
Under its 60-point reform plan, Xi’s new administration promised to get rid of obstacles that had been holding back consumer-led growth in China — including enforcing a property tax, granting more land rights to farmers and migrant workers, and opening state-controlled sectors to private capital. Read more>>
Hong Kong Developers Threaten Bird Sanctuary With New High-Rises
An expansive area of wetland in Hong Kong that is environmentally critical is coming under threat, as developers desperate for land in the world’s most unaffordable housing market plan to build tall apartment blocks near the protected area.
The sprawling marshes and fishponds in Hong Kong’s northwest, bordering the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen, provide foraging and roosting grounds for hundreds of bird species, including the threatened Black-Faced Spoonbill and Saunders’s Gull. Read more>>
Asian Hotel Market Confidence Rising: CBRE
Confidence in the hotel and hospitality market in Asia Pacific continues to grow as borders reopen and operating performance recovers to pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report by CBRE.
The recovery is still largely driven by domestic demand, with international arrivals accelerating in markets, including Southeast Asia, that have loosened entry and quarantine restrictions and are now open to all arrivals. Read more>>
Housing Prices in Indian Cities Up 3-10% in July-September Period
Average housing prices across eight Indian cities rose between 3 and 10 percent year-on-year in July-September this year, while office rent grew by up to 13 percent on higher demand for properties, according to Knight Frank.
The Bengaluru property market saw the highest growth in average housing price as well as average office rent during the third quarter of the 2022 calendar year as compared with the corresponding period of the previous year, the property consultant said. Read more>>
HSBC Weighs Multibillion-Pound Canada Sale Amid Ping An Siege
HSBC Holdings is exploring a multibillion-pound sale of its operations in Canada in what would mark a significant retreat from its presence in North America.
Sky News has learned that HSBC’s board has instructed investment bankers at JP Morgan to sound out prospective buyers of its business in the country. Read more>>
Tune in again soon for more real estate news and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.
Leave a Reply