Hongkong Land CEO Michael Smith
Jardine Matheson’s Hongkong Land Holdings is reportedly considering the sale of its Singapore-based MCL Land unit, with that story leading today’s headline roundup. Also in the news, a French investor mulls a Singapore healthcare REIT and CapitaLand Investment expands its Japan self-storage portfolio.
Hongkong Land Said Weighing Sale of Singapore Developer MCL Land
Hongkong Land Holdings is considering selling its Singapore-based development arm MCL Land, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The Jardine Matheson-backed firm, which owns 100 percent of MCL Land, is seeking to divest the company at a premium to its book value of S$1.1 billion ($820 million), said the people, asking not to be identified discussing the private process. Hongkong Land is speaking with prospective financial advisors to help prepare for a transaction, the people said. Read more>>
Praemia REIM Mulling Singapore Healthcare REIT IPO
France’s Praemia REIM is considering listing a healthcare REIT in Singapore, according to people familiar with the matter, adding to a slew of potential deals that could revive the city-state’s anaemic market for initial public offerings.
The hospital assets included in the REIT may be worth $2 billion to $3 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private deliberations. The real estate investment firm may seek to raise several hundred million dollars from the first-time share sale, they said. Read more>>
CapitaLand Investment Expands Japan Self-Storage Portfolio
Singapore’s CapitaLand Investment, which operates the Extra Space Asia self-storage brand, is expanding its portfolio in Japan through a strategic alliance with local operator Ambitious.
CapitaLand Investment has already purchased four Osaka facilities from its new partner and intends to buy two more in Tokyo by early 2025. It now has 14 sites in the country comprising more than 60,000 square feet (5,574 square metres), according to sources. Read more>>
Two Sigma, Hillhouse Texas Cash at Risk on New China Curbs
When Texas’s largest state pension funds and endowments moved to curb China investments in recent years, they still kept money with big names like Two Sigma Investments, Hillhouse Investment, PAG and HongShan Capital Group.
Now a new order for state entities to divest all of their China investments calls into question the ability of those firms to hold on to existing cash or raise fresh capital from the Lone Star State. Read more>>
NTT Plans 290MW Data Centre Campus in Malaysia’s Johor
NTT is set to expand its data centre footprint in Malaysia with the proposed acquisition of a 68.5 acre (27.7 hectare) land parcel in Gelang Patah, Johor Bahru, for a data centre campus.
The company aims to develop six buildings totalling 290 megawatts of capacity at the site. The first 48MW building is due to launch in April 2027. Read more>>
Sasseur REIT, Sponsor Agree to Extend Maturity of Sponsor Loan
Singapore-listed Sasseur REIT’s manager announced that the trust’s subsidiaries and sponsor have agreed to extend a sponsor loan of RMB 308 million ($56 million) that was scheduled to mature in March 2025 to March 2030.
The manager also announced that the parties have entered a supplementary agreement to amend certain terms and conditions of the sponsor loan agreement. Read more>>
Elevate Capital Sees Opportunities in Living Sector, Lifestyle Spaces
Stamford Court’s repositioning exercise — which will see the property in Singapore’s civic district transformed into a mixed-use lifestyle destination with food and beverage outlets, a co-working space and serviced apartments — is targeted for completion in mid-2026.
“We are hoping to add an interesting mixed-use concept to revitalise the area and a reason for people to come, which will hopefully drive more foot traffic to the area,” said Elevate Capital Group managing partner Ashish Manchharam. “We aim to curate the ground-floor retail and F&B offerings based on demand from the immediate vicinity, but will also carve out a space with a unique concept that people would travel to as a destination.” Read more>>
China’s New Home Sales Projected to Fall 15% in 2025: Fitch
China’s attempts to revive the local property market have helped stabilise sentiment among homebuyers, according to Fitch Ratings. They are not likely to prevent a fourth straight year of decline in sales in 2025 given weak sector fundamentals, the agency said.
New home sales could drop by 15 percent to RMB 7.3 trillion ($1 trillion) next year, Fitch said in a report released Thursday, reflecting a 10 percent decline in gross floor area sold and a 5 percent drop in average selling prices. Excess inventory and low rental yields are among major reasons for the poor outlook. Read more>>
Wall Street Banks Predict Biggest China Rate Cuts in a Decade
China’s central bank will deliver the biggest interest rate cuts in a decade next year as policymakers intensify efforts to shore up growth and arrest deflation, in the view of a number of Wall Street banks.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are among those projecting cuts of 40 basis points to the People’s Bank of China’s main policy rate in 2025. That would be the largest reduction in a calendar year since 2015, taking the seven-day reverse repo rate down to 1.1 percent. The median forecast in Bloomberg’s most recent survey was for 30 basis points of cuts. Read more>>
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Michael Cole
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