Macquarie Asset Management head Ben Way
Australia’s Macquarie Asset Management is set to introduce Japan’s first publicly offered trust investing in private infrastructure, with that story leading today’s headline roundup. Also making the list, Hong Kong’s Henderson Land lays out a plan for a dozen project launches this year and HSBC’s new boss begins a wide-ranging overhaul of the Asia-focused bank.
Macquarie Plans Japanese Infrastructure REIT
Global fund managers including Macquarie Asset Management and Blackstone plan to introduce investment products for private infrastructure aimed at retail investors in Japan, cultivating the market with an eye on rising demand from the wealthy.
Infrastructure investment involves acquiring equipment related to roads, ports, water lines and power plants, or purchasing shares in operating companies. In addition to distributing income earned from operations to investors, profits are made by selling equipment and shares. Read more>>
Hong Kong’s Henderson Land to Launch 12 Projects This Year
Henderson Land Development said Tuesday that it would launch 12 projects with 5,400 units this year, in the belief that Hong Kong home prices will rebound in the second half amid demand from buyers and lower interest rates.
Phase 2 of Belgravia Place in Cheung Sha Wan with 248 units is likely to be launched this month, said Thomas Lam, general manager of the sales department. Read more>>
HSBC’s Elhedery Kicks Off Investment Banking Overhaul
Months after taking over as HSBC’s CEO, Georges Elhedery has pulled the trigger on a wide-ranging overhaul that signals an end to the company’s ambitions of becoming a global player in investment banking. It also puts the spotlight on two regions where the bank can challenge Wall Street giants: Asia and the Middle East.
Elhedery’s decade-long stint in the Middle East could lead to greater focus on the Gulf, given his deep understanding of the market and the contacts he built during his stint. Read more>>
Hong Kong Property Sales Fall to 4-Month Low
Property sales in Hong Kong fell to a four-month low in January, pointing to a more challenging environment for the sector in the coming months as buyers remain rattled by rising geopolitical tensions and an uncertain interest-rate trajectory.
Deals involving residential and commercial properties and parking spaces dropped 10.4 percent to 4,938 while value declined 14.2 percent to HK$36.7 billion ($4.7 billion) compared with a month earlier, according to Land Registry data published Tuesday. Both readings slipped to their lowest levels since 3,843 transactions worth HK$27.7 billion in September. Read more>>
Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium to Open on 1 March
Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium will officially open on 1 March, the government has revealed, as the venue hosted about 50,000 people as part of a stress test Tuesday night.
Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law announced the date as officials reviewed Tuesday’s trial, which included the stadium’s retractable roof being open for the first time during a football match and noise-level tests at nearby residential estates. Read more>>
China Evergrande EV Unit Struggles to Find Investors
China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle said Monday that it faces difficulty attracting strategic investors amid a liquidity crisis which has hampered operations and delayed essential audits for 2024.
“The tough conditions under which the new energy vehicle in Mainland China is operating has certainly not facilitated this (securing a strategic investor) process,” the firm said. Read more>>
Former Hong Kong Chief CY Leung in Spat With Centaline Boss
A war of words between a former leader of Hong Kong and a major real estate agency has escalated over the government’s housing supply projections, with Centaline Property Agency founder Shih Wing-ching saying the criticism involving his firm amounts to “a personal attack”.
Shih on Tuesday pushed back against remarks by former chief executive Leung Chun-ying, who wrote four social media posts in the past four days criticising the agency. Read more>>
FLCT Reports 94.3% Occupancy for Final Months of 2024
Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust leased 175,000 square metres (1.9 million square feet) of space across its portfolio in the quarter to the end of December, with an occupancy rate of 94.3 percent.
FLCT’s portfolio of 114 industrial and commercial properties has a value of S$6.8 billion ($5 billion), the trust’s manager said Tuesday in a business update. 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.