Tag Archives: Commercial Property

Commercial property boom in Asia-Pacific

Posted on 27 May 2011 | Comments Off on Commercial property boom in Asia-Pacific

Commercial property leased out by investors in the Asia-Pacific, or invested stock, increased 14 per cent last year, displaying the region’s flourish while markets in Europe and the United States languished, according to the yearly Money into Property report by real estate consultancy DTZ.

The Asia-Pacific’s invested stock is also forecast to match current global leader Europe’s level by rising to US$4.4 trillion (S$5.47 trillion) by next year, after taking the place of the US as the world’s second-largest commercial property market this year, DTZ said.

The Asia-Pacific region’s growth has been led by China and Australia, which reported gains of 25 and 24 per cent, respectively, last year. Overall transaction levels in the region rose to US$158 billion last year, indicating increasing development activity and rising capital values. Global investment volumes were up 76 per cent at US$342 billion – the highest since 2007. DTZ also forecast global investment volumes to increase 9 per cent this year.

Mr David Green-Morgan, DTZ head of Asia Pacific Research, is optimistic about the region. “We expect Asia-Pacific’s momentum to continue on the back of strong economic growth, lack of legacy debt issues and strong investor interest.”

Liquidity in the Asia-Pacific commercial property market continued to grow last year. The amount of private debt funding such investments grew 17 per cent to US$257 billion, while private equity funding grew 13 per cent to US$139 billion. However, DTZ said rising interest rates may make bank loans less popular.

“On the debt side, some of the government policy will reduce the amount of debt going forward, for the growth of private debt in particular. Also some of the debt is being priced higher now and becomes less attractive,” said Mr Hans Vrensen, global head of research at DTZ.

“But there’s a lot of development still in the pipeline. You are not going to stop building a building. People will continue to deliver these properties to the market and that is a big momentum that the Asia-Pacific has,” said Mr Vrensen.

Source : Today – 27 May 2011

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Posted in Office / Retail / Industrial, Overseas Property

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Mapletree to launch China property fund next 2 years

Posted on 26 May 2011 | Comments Off on Mapletree to launch China property fund next 2 years

Singapore’s Mapletree Investments plans to set up a China-focused fund that will have US$500 million to US$1 billion ($624 million to $1.2 billion) to invest in Chinese commercial property once it deploys most of the money in its existing funds, a senior executive said on Wednesday.

The fund, which will be backed by internal funds and money raised from outside investors, will likely be launched in 2012 or 2013, Group Chief Investment Officer Chua Tiow Chye told reporters at a press conference.

“The new China fund will be purely commercial-related so investors are quite clear what they are co-investing with us,” said Chua.

“Looking at our pipeline, for us to deploy US$500 million worth of equity over a period of 2-3 years should not be an issue,” he added.

Mapletree Investments, a property firm owned by state investor Temasek (TEM.UL), manages property funds including several that are listed on the Singapore Exchange.

For the financial year ended March, the firm made a net profit of $747 million, 90% higher than $394 million it made in 2009/2010. Mapletree Investments owns or manages $15.4 billion worth of assets as at March 31, it said in its annual report.

Earlier this year, it raised $898 million through the initial public offering of Mapletree Commercial (MACT.SI), whose key asset is Vivocity, Singapore’s largest shopping mall.

On the upcoming China fund, Chua said Mapletree Investments targets annual returns of about 18-22%, similar to what it hopes to achieve for its existing US$1.2 billion China and India fund.

The China-focused fund will likely invest in commercial assets in the office, retail and some mixed-residential sectors in the country’s first and second-tier cities.

He added that the Temasek-linked firm expects to do better than most players in the increasingly crowded China market, given its experience in managing malls and offices across the region.

“Because of all the anti-speculative measures which the government has put in place, there’s quite a fair bit of interest by even local developers to look at commercial properties,” he added.

Mapletree Investments, which also expects to launch a US$300-$500 million Vietnam fund in 2013, does not currently have plans to list itself, Group Chief Executive Hiew Yoon Khong said.

Source : TheEdge – 26 May 2011

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Posted in Developers, Overseas Property

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