ESR’s Horsley Logistics Park in Sydney (Image: ESR)
In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, industrial giant ESR is reported to be putting its Australian portfolio with China Merchants Capital up for sale, and Wuxi joins other Chinese cities in scrapping homebuying curbs. Also making the list are Japan’s rising rural land prices and Tokyo’s apartment rent surge.
Asia Logistics Players Ride Australia’s Last-Mile Boom With Portfolio Offers
Asian industrial powerhouse ESR is set to become the latest player to capitalise on the last-mile logistics boom, with a venture it has with China Merchants Capital Investment putting a portfolio on the block that could sell for more than A$225 million ($145.7 million).
And in another major play, an investor is being offered the chance to acquire a bespoke complex in Melbourne to be developed by logistics specialist Logos. Read more>>
Major Chinese Cities Rush to Scrap Homebuying Curbs to Boost Demand
China’s eastern export hub, Wuxi, on Tuesday joined other major cities in dropping home-purchase restrictions to attract buyers, as a persistent housing slump continues to pressure the world’s second-largest economy after earlier policy-easing failed to sustain a property revival.
Wuxi, a populous port city in China’s affluent coastal Jiangsu province, said it would scrap curbs on homebuying, in addition to implementing a broadened definition of first-time homebuyers and cuts on mortgage rates and down-payment ratios, measures that had been previously announced by Chinese ministries. Read more>>
Japan Land Prices Rise as Rural Areas End Three-Decade Slump
Land prices rose across Japan for a second straight year, with values in rural residential areas ending a three-decade decline, buoyed by low interest rates, factory construction and a tourism rebound.
Average prices nationwide climbed 1 percent in the year to 1 July, accelerating from a 0.3 percent increase a year earlier, a report by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism showed. Residential land values gained 0.7 percent, while commercial sites jumped 1.5 percent. Read more>>
Tokyo Apartment Rents Up 11.9% From Last Year
After remaining relatively subdued throughout the pandemic, apartment rents in Tokyo’s 23 wards are on the rise, increasing by 8 percent since the start of the year.
The average monthly rent of a condominium apartment in the 23 wards was JPY 4,266 ($28.83) per square metre as of August, up 2.3 percent from the previous month and up 11.9 percent from last year. This has exceeded the previous record high set in July. Read more>>
Country Garden Leaves Bondholders in Dark as Interest Unpaid
Distressed Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings has passed an initial deadline to pay dollar bond interest with holders yet to receive the money, keeping the threat of a first default looming.
The builder, which has become a symbol of China’s broader property debt crisis, had to pay $15.4 million in interest by Monday on the note. Two holders said they hadn’t gotten payment as of 3pm Hong Kong time Tuesday. Country Garden didn’t comment when reached. There’s a 30-day grace period before a default can be called. Read more>>
China Funds Look to Calm Once-Bitten Clients Hurt by Bond Losses
A pickup in China bond losses has sent local money managers rushing to reassure clients that there won’t be a repetition of last year’s record withdrawals.
The nation’s biggest lender, ICBC, told its private bank clients in a statement Monday that a sharp pullback in the bond market is unlikely, mirroring commentary from peers like Industrial Bank and HSBC Jintrust Fund. ICBC’s argument was that it’s too early to call an end to monetary easing and give up on bonds, given the slow recovery in the world’s second-largest economy. Read more>>
Two Injured After Platform Falls 28 Storeys From Henderson Project in Central
A workplace accident at a building site in Hong Kong’s Central district has left two injured after a work platform fell from the 28th floor.
Police received a report on Monday afternoon that a platform had fallen from height at 2 Murray Road in Central — the address of The Henderson, a 36-storey skyscraper. Sources at the construction site reportedly said the platform had fallen from the 28th floor, injuring one and trapping another. Read more>>
Lendlease Calls On Industry to Tackle Built Environment’s Top Carbon Challenge
Australian developer Lendlease has thrown down the gauntlet at Climate Week NYC, calling on industry peers to expand their decarbonisation efforts by addressing the largest source of the sector’s carbon emissions: value chain or Scope 3 emissions.
Scope 3 emissions are indirect emissions that occur in an organisation’s value chain and often make up the majority of an organisation’s carbon footprint. They are especially challenging to address in the real estate sector due to limited guidance on Scope 3 reporting boundaries. Read more>>
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