ALLCO Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit), which owns commercial buildings in Singapore, Australia and Japan, has cancelled a plan to raise up to $150 million, citing market conditions.
The trust said it was not proceeding with its plan to raise capital by offering up to 175.2 million new units to existing unit holders.
‘There is no pressing need for Allco Reit to be raising capital at this time,’ said Mr Nicholas McGrath, the chief executive of Allco Reit’s manager.
The Reit had meant to use capital raised from the offering to pay off some of the debt taken on when it bought properties in Singapore and Japan.
‘However, given current market conditions, the manager has concluded that it is not prudent to raise equity at this time,’ the Reit said in a statement.
Earlier this month, Saizen Reit - which owns properties in Japan - saw the price of its units plunge 13 per cent on its debut.
As well, APL Japan Trust - which has a portfolio of residential buildings in 12 Japanese cities - postponed its initial public offering.
It said that it was concerned about post-listing weakness amid poor market sentiment.
Source : Straits Times - 29 Nov 2007
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Obayashi Corp, Japan’s second-largest construction company by market value, plans to invest 200 billion yen (S$2.6 billion) in property
Obayashi Corp, Japan’s second-largest construction company by market value, plans to invest 200 billion yen (S$2.6 billion) in property to take advantage of rising values and reduce its dependence on the building business.
The company’s construction operations have suffered from soaring raw material prices and intensified competition, said Yasuo Kodera, a finance manager at Obayashi, in an interview. The builder announced its five-year investment plan on Tuesday.
‘This is our first time to set an investment target for our real estate business,’ said Mr Kodera. ‘While construction and civil engineering will continue to be our core businesses, we would like to expand real estate operations, such as leasing, which will provide stable income.’
Public works spending was cut by 3.5 per cent this fiscal year, the sixth year of cuts. That’s increased competition among builders that have also been hurt by rising materials costs and public sanctions for bid rigging.
The Topix Construction Index is at the lowest level in three years.
Obayashi is seeking to profit from a rebound in real estate as Tokyo office rents stand at a 13-year high and nationwide commercial land prices rose this year for the first time since 1991.
Real estate operations accounted for a quarter of operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, last year from 18 per cent a year earlier.
Obayashi’s operating profit from construction fell to 695 million yen in the six months ended Sept 30, from 7.98 billion yen a year earlier.
The Tokyo-based company expects net income for the year ending March to be 23 billion yen, a 43 per cent decline from last year.
Half of the company’s real estate investment in the next five years will be spent on property to be leased out, while the other half will go to buy land with the aim of reselling it at a higher price, the company said.
Shares of Obayashi, have fallen 33 per cent in the past six months. — Bloomberg
Source : Business Times - 15 Nov 2007
The company’s construction operations have suffered from soaring raw material prices and intensified competition, said Yasuo Kodera, a finance manager at Obayashi, in an interview. The builder announced its five-year investment plan on Tuesday.
‘This is our first time to set an investment target for our real estate business,’ said Mr Kodera. ‘While construction and civil engineering will continue to be our core businesses, we would like to expand real estate operations, such as leasing, which will provide stable income.’
Public works spending was cut by 3.5 per cent this fiscal year, the sixth year of cuts. That’s increased competition among builders that have also been hurt by rising materials costs and public sanctions for bid rigging.
The Topix Construction Index is at the lowest level in three years.
Obayashi is seeking to profit from a rebound in real estate as Tokyo office rents stand at a 13-year high and nationwide commercial land prices rose this year for the first time since 1991.
Real estate operations accounted for a quarter of operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, last year from 18 per cent a year earlier.
Obayashi’s operating profit from construction fell to 695 million yen in the six months ended Sept 30, from 7.98 billion yen a year earlier.
The Tokyo-based company expects net income for the year ending March to be 23 billion yen, a 43 per cent decline from last year.
Half of the company’s real estate investment in the next five years will be spent on property to be leased out, while the other half will go to buy land with the aim of reselling it at a higher price, the company said.
Shares of Obayashi, have fallen 33 per cent in the past six months. — Bloomberg
Source : Business Times - 15 Nov 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Rexit to make big strides in Japan
Rexit to make big strides in Japan
By C. S. Tan
PETALING JAYA: Rexit Bhd got closer towards taking a big step into the insurance market in Japan when it received a letter of intent from Marubeni Safenet Co Ltd on Monday.
Marubeni Safenet, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Marubeni Corp of Japan, sent a letter of intent (LOI) to Rexit International Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Rexit Bhd, for implementation of its insurance software and services for the Japanese company.
“Marubeni does not lightly issue an LOI. When it gives an LOI, a contract is likely to issued soon, maybe in a month or two,” industry sources said yesterday.
When that happens, it would be a giant step for Rexit because Marubeni Safenet is a giant even on the scale of the huge Japanese insurance market.
In a note on Rexit yesterday, Aseambankers said Marubeni Safenet was an insurance agency that counted the top three non-life insurers in Japan as its clients, namely Tokyo Marine, Sompo Japan and Mitsui Sumitomo.
These three clients account for more than 62% of Japan's non-life insurance market.
Aseambankers expects the Rexit portal would go live in Japan in July next year. It is understood that Rexit would then replace the current process there of issuing paper documents and physical delivery of policy documents with its e-Cover portal.
The brokerage also expects Rexit International would adopt a model based on a percentage of Marubeni Safenet's insurance premium revenue.
“Any percentage would be a lot for Rexit International because Marubeni Safenet's revenue is in the billions of US dollars,” the sources said. Marubeni Safenet represents 25 non-life companies and 15 life insurance companies in Japan.
Rexit International is a joint venture company that is 51% owned by Rexit Bhd and 49% owned by Marubeni Corp.
The joint ownership with Marubeni does not, however, automatically ensure the Japanese group would outsource the information technology (IT) services of its insurance group to Rexit International.
The Malaysian company has to undergo a thorough evaluation by Marubeni Safenet, a process that started in October last year.
There is increasing confidence that the arrangements made so far would lead to a contract and implementation of Rexit's e-Cover portal for Marubeni. Some fund managers believe that.
T. Rowe Price Associates Inc, for instance, bought an 8% stake in Rexit.
Aseambankers said that since it initiated coverage of the stock in January, large investment funds, both local and foreign, had become significant shareholders of Rexit.
That may explain the relative stability of Rexit's share price, which occasionally jumps, then follows a flattish trend but does not fall sharply.
Rexit is now one of the largest companies listed on the Mesdaq Market in terms of its market value of about RM550mil. The stock rose 30 sen to RM2.92 yesterday.
By C. S. Tan
PETALING JAYA: Rexit Bhd got closer towards taking a big step into the insurance market in Japan when it received a letter of intent from Marubeni Safenet Co Ltd on Monday.
Marubeni Safenet, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Marubeni Corp of Japan, sent a letter of intent (LOI) to Rexit International Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Rexit Bhd, for implementation of its insurance software and services for the Japanese company.
“Marubeni does not lightly issue an LOI. When it gives an LOI, a contract is likely to issued soon, maybe in a month or two,” industry sources said yesterday.
When that happens, it would be a giant step for Rexit because Marubeni Safenet is a giant even on the scale of the huge Japanese insurance market.
In a note on Rexit yesterday, Aseambankers said Marubeni Safenet was an insurance agency that counted the top three non-life insurers in Japan as its clients, namely Tokyo Marine, Sompo Japan and Mitsui Sumitomo.
These three clients account for more than 62% of Japan's non-life insurance market.
Aseambankers expects the Rexit portal would go live in Japan in July next year. It is understood that Rexit would then replace the current process there of issuing paper documents and physical delivery of policy documents with its e-Cover portal.
The brokerage also expects Rexit International would adopt a model based on a percentage of Marubeni Safenet's insurance premium revenue.
“Any percentage would be a lot for Rexit International because Marubeni Safenet's revenue is in the billions of US dollars,” the sources said. Marubeni Safenet represents 25 non-life companies and 15 life insurance companies in Japan.
Rexit International is a joint venture company that is 51% owned by Rexit Bhd and 49% owned by Marubeni Corp.
The joint ownership with Marubeni does not, however, automatically ensure the Japanese group would outsource the information technology (IT) services of its insurance group to Rexit International.
The Malaysian company has to undergo a thorough evaluation by Marubeni Safenet, a process that started in October last year.
There is increasing confidence that the arrangements made so far would lead to a contract and implementation of Rexit's e-Cover portal for Marubeni. Some fund managers believe that.
T. Rowe Price Associates Inc, for instance, bought an 8% stake in Rexit.
Aseambankers said that since it initiated coverage of the stock in January, large investment funds, both local and foreign, had become significant shareholders of Rexit.
That may explain the relative stability of Rexit's share price, which occasionally jumps, then follows a flattish trend but does not fall sharply.
Rexit is now one of the largest companies listed on the Mesdaq Market in terms of its market value of about RM550mil. The stock rose 30 sen to RM2.92 yesterday.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Tokyo office rents expected to rise another 60per cent to a peak in 2010 because of shrinking vacancy rates, now at just 2.7 per cent,
Mikihisa Hirai, president of Atlas Partners Japan Ltd, should be giddy with excitement as European and Middle Eastern clients are due to almost double the size of his property funds to just over US$800 million. But Mr Hirai knows he has his work cut out for him.
With Tokyo office rents expected to rise another 60per cent to a peak in 2010 because of shrinking vacancy rates, now at just 2.7 per cent, Japan is a popular place for property investors.
But average prices for commercial buildings have already jumped 25 per cent in the last couple of years, and competition for assets between real estate investment trusts (Reits), private equity funds and institutional investors is hotting up, eating away at returns.
‘There are no simple and easy deals,’ Mr Hirai said. ‘I feel there are more deals where bid prices are ridiculously high.’
With rock-bottom interest rates despite an economic recovery, Japan drew 55per cent of the US$94 billion in property transactions in Asia last year, including an increasing amount of petrodollars from the Middle East.
But now, yield-hungry investors are having to scour the country for more complex deals.
For example, Australian listed property trusts are starting to buy Japanese buildings, but employ heavy borrowing and currency hedging to artificially lift a property yield of 5 per cent into a more attractive 7.7 per cent yield for investors back home. Four property trusts carrying Japanese assets have listed in Australia in the past two years, including Babcock & Brown Japan Property Trust and Galileo Japan Trust. Such ‘financial engineering’ gives Australian investors an incentive to buy in Japan, says Peter Barge, chief executive officer of Jones Lang LaSalle Asia.
Deals are also growing bigger, Mr Barge said, as foreign investors try to outrun their local rivals.
‘Japanese are becoming major competitors. So they go for deals worth at least half a billion dollars to get away from Japanese competitors,’ he said. ‘You have to be a big investor to find opportunities.’
Yesterday, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp, the Japanese truck unit of DaimlerChrysler AG, said it had sold 180 real estate properties in Japan as part of its efforts to focus on its core businesses, in a deal valued at US$1.4 billion, according to a market source.
The properties, mainly of retail operations for its regional sales centres, would be leased back to the same operators.
Investors are also moving away from the staple diet of offices.
Australian real estate manager MacarthurCook Ltd is looking to buy Japanese logistics buildings which offer a yield of about 5 per cent, compared with yields for top-notch offices of as low as 2 per cent.
‘Not many logistics properties are included in Japanese Reits yet,’ said Craig Dunstan, managing director and chief investment officer for MacarthurCook. ‘It’s positive from the availability point of view.’
The MacarthurCook Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust SI, which listed in Singapore in April, expects Japan to account for about 20 per cent of its overall portfolio.
The Japanese government, worried about another asset bubble, will start monitoring private funds from September, a step likely to force some smaller players out of the market. Others warn that rising interest rates in global markets may depress foreign investor appetite for assets in Japan.
Higher borrowing costs, already higher than property yields in Europe and the United States, could turn property investors more insular, said Daisuke Fukushima, senior analyst Nomura Securities Co Ltd.
‘Negative spreads in some overseas investments are widening and this means that investment properties are incurring latent losses,’ he said. ‘It’s likely that foreign investors will become less aggressive on their global investments when they are not sure how much losses they have at home.’
Source: The Business Times, 28 June 2007
With Tokyo office rents expected to rise another 60per cent to a peak in 2010 because of shrinking vacancy rates, now at just 2.7 per cent, Japan is a popular place for property investors.
But average prices for commercial buildings have already jumped 25 per cent in the last couple of years, and competition for assets between real estate investment trusts (Reits), private equity funds and institutional investors is hotting up, eating away at returns.
‘There are no simple and easy deals,’ Mr Hirai said. ‘I feel there are more deals where bid prices are ridiculously high.’
With rock-bottom interest rates despite an economic recovery, Japan drew 55per cent of the US$94 billion in property transactions in Asia last year, including an increasing amount of petrodollars from the Middle East.
But now, yield-hungry investors are having to scour the country for more complex deals.
For example, Australian listed property trusts are starting to buy Japanese buildings, but employ heavy borrowing and currency hedging to artificially lift a property yield of 5 per cent into a more attractive 7.7 per cent yield for investors back home. Four property trusts carrying Japanese assets have listed in Australia in the past two years, including Babcock & Brown Japan Property Trust and Galileo Japan Trust. Such ‘financial engineering’ gives Australian investors an incentive to buy in Japan, says Peter Barge, chief executive officer of Jones Lang LaSalle Asia.
Deals are also growing bigger, Mr Barge said, as foreign investors try to outrun their local rivals.
‘Japanese are becoming major competitors. So they go for deals worth at least half a billion dollars to get away from Japanese competitors,’ he said. ‘You have to be a big investor to find opportunities.’
Yesterday, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp, the Japanese truck unit of DaimlerChrysler AG, said it had sold 180 real estate properties in Japan as part of its efforts to focus on its core businesses, in a deal valued at US$1.4 billion, according to a market source.
The properties, mainly of retail operations for its regional sales centres, would be leased back to the same operators.
Investors are also moving away from the staple diet of offices.
Australian real estate manager MacarthurCook Ltd is looking to buy Japanese logistics buildings which offer a yield of about 5 per cent, compared with yields for top-notch offices of as low as 2 per cent.
‘Not many logistics properties are included in Japanese Reits yet,’ said Craig Dunstan, managing director and chief investment officer for MacarthurCook. ‘It’s positive from the availability point of view.’
The MacarthurCook Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust SI, which listed in Singapore in April, expects Japan to account for about 20 per cent of its overall portfolio.
The Japanese government, worried about another asset bubble, will start monitoring private funds from September, a step likely to force some smaller players out of the market. Others warn that rising interest rates in global markets may depress foreign investor appetite for assets in Japan.
Higher borrowing costs, already higher than property yields in Europe and the United States, could turn property investors more insular, said Daisuke Fukushima, senior analyst Nomura Securities Co Ltd.
‘Negative spreads in some overseas investments are widening and this means that investment properties are incurring latent losses,’ he said. ‘It’s likely that foreign investors will become less aggressive on their global investments when they are not sure how much losses they have at home.’
Source: The Business Times, 28 June 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Japanese Stocks Fall, Led by Property Developers; Takeda Gains
Japanese Stocks Fall, Led by Property Developers; Takeda Gains
By Makiko Suzuki
June 25 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks declined, led by property developers including Mitsubishi Estate Co., as investors shifted funds out of shares that may be hurt by the trend of increasing interest rates.
Some exporters such as Advantest Corp. and Fanuc Ltd. gained as investors judged the benefit of a weaker yen outweighed the risk defaults in the U.S. will curb consumer spending in Japan's largest overseas market.
The Bank for International Settlements said on June 24 central banks may need to continue raising interest rates to slow inflation.
``What people in equity markets have forecast is that interest rates will rise while solid global growth led by emerging markets continues,'' said Masayuki Kubota, who oversees $2.1 billion in assets at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Tokyo. ``Investors shifted money from property developers to major manufacturers selling products globally.''
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. climbed after a study found the company's Actos drug may lower the risk of heart attack and death.
Victor Co. of Japan Ltd., a unit of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., rose the most in more than four months after Bloomberg News reported Kenwood Corp. agreed to buy control of the money-losing business, citing people familiar with the issue.
The Topix index fell 13.12, or 0.7 percent, to 1764.87, with a measure tracking property developers posting the biggest percentage loss. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 101.15, or 0.6 percent, to 18,087.48 after gaining as much as 0.1 percent.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped by the most since early March last week after the near collapse of a Bear Stearns Cos. hedge fund spurred speculation investors will have to write down the value of securities containing subprime mortgages.
Rates to Rise?
The Topix Real Estate Index slid 2.9 percent, the worst performer among the 33 industry groups in the broad measure.
Mitsubishi Estate, Japan's second-biggest property developer by sales, lost 80 yen, or 2.4 percent, to 3,330. Mitsui Fudosan Co., the nation's biggest, fell 100 yen, or 2.8 percent, to 3,430. The Tokyo Stock Exchange's REIT Index, which tracks all Real Estate Investment Trusts listed on the TSE, slid 1.7 percent to 2309.56, the lowest since March 16.
The BIS said in its annual report published yesterday a 37 percent rebound in the cost of oil since mid-January as well as rising wages, increasing capacity utilization and falling unemployment may be stoking inflation.
Central banks have fueled economic growth by keeping borrowing costs at relatively low levels, the BIS said. In the period under review, to May 2007, interest rates ``remained highly accommodative in the industrial countries'' after being raised only ``moderately.'' The BIS is known as the ``central banks' central bank.''
Falling Yen
The Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan index may show confidence among the nation's largest manufacturers probably stayed close to a two-year high, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The central bank is scheduled to release the survey on July 2. Stronger-than-expected figures may prompt the BOJ to raise interest rates at a faster pace than anticipated.
Advantest, the world's No. 1 maker of memory-chip testing equipment, gained 60 yen, or 1.1 percent, to 5,550. Fanuc, the world's biggest factory-robot maker, rose 180 yen, or 1.4 percent, to 12,960, reversing a loss of as much as 1.1 percent.
The yen dropped to a record low of 166.86 against the euro last week and slid against the dollar to 123.89, the lowest level since Dec. 6, 2002. The Japanese currency recently traded at 166.73 against the euro and 123.88 per dollar.
Actos Cuts Risk
Japan's large manufacturers forecast the yen will be at around 114 yen to the dollar for the business year ending March 2008, the Tankan for the last quarter showed on April 2.
A weaker yen increases the value of Japanese companies' overseas sales when converted into local currency and make their products more competitive.
Advantest and Fanuc both forecast Japan's currency will trade at 115 yen against the dollar on average this financial year.
Exporters reliant on North American sales fell after reports said Bear Stearns offered $3.2 billion in loans to bail out the High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund, which lost about 20 percent this year because of bad bets on collateralized-debt obligations.
Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest automaker by market value, lost 40 yen, or 0.5 percent, to 7,660. Sony Corp., the world's No. 1 video-game maker, fell 90 yen, or 1.4 percent, to 6,460. Toyota made 35 percent of its total sales in North America in 2006 and the U.S. is Sony's largest overseas market.
Victor-Kenwood Merger
Takeda advanced 90 yen, or 1.2 percent, to 7,950. Takeda's Actos drug is in the same family as GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Avandia, which was shown in a study last month to increase patient's chances of having a heart attack by 43 percent. The Actos data suggests the problems with Avandia aren't tied to other medicines in the same family and may lead physicians to favor Actos as they switch patients from Avandia to other drugs.
Victor jumped 12 yen, or 3 percent, to 407, the most since Feb. 21, after surging as much as 9.9 percent. Matsushita, the world's biggest consumer electronics maker, added 20 yen, or 0.8 percent, to 2,475.
Victor, Matsushita and Kenwood are discussing final terms on the sale of Victor after the unprofitable company agreed to a merger with Kenwood, two people familiar with the issue told Bloomberg News, asking not to be identified because the talks are confidential.
Matsushita, which owns more than 52 percent of Victor, has been seeking a buyer of the company for several years. Victor is forecasting a fourth straight loss this year and Kenwood has previously been among candidates to buy the company. With the buyout, Tokyo-based Kenwood will gain the JVC brand for car audio and navigation systems and home-use stereo sets.
Nikkei futures expiring in September fell 0.7 percent to 18,100 in Osaka and Singapore.
By Makiko Suzuki
June 25 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks declined, led by property developers including Mitsubishi Estate Co., as investors shifted funds out of shares that may be hurt by the trend of increasing interest rates.
Some exporters such as Advantest Corp. and Fanuc Ltd. gained as investors judged the benefit of a weaker yen outweighed the risk defaults in the U.S. will curb consumer spending in Japan's largest overseas market.
The Bank for International Settlements said on June 24 central banks may need to continue raising interest rates to slow inflation.
``What people in equity markets have forecast is that interest rates will rise while solid global growth led by emerging markets continues,'' said Masayuki Kubota, who oversees $2.1 billion in assets at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Tokyo. ``Investors shifted money from property developers to major manufacturers selling products globally.''
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. climbed after a study found the company's Actos drug may lower the risk of heart attack and death.
Victor Co. of Japan Ltd., a unit of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., rose the most in more than four months after Bloomberg News reported Kenwood Corp. agreed to buy control of the money-losing business, citing people familiar with the issue.
The Topix index fell 13.12, or 0.7 percent, to 1764.87, with a measure tracking property developers posting the biggest percentage loss. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 101.15, or 0.6 percent, to 18,087.48 after gaining as much as 0.1 percent.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped by the most since early March last week after the near collapse of a Bear Stearns Cos. hedge fund spurred speculation investors will have to write down the value of securities containing subprime mortgages.
Rates to Rise?
The Topix Real Estate Index slid 2.9 percent, the worst performer among the 33 industry groups in the broad measure.
Mitsubishi Estate, Japan's second-biggest property developer by sales, lost 80 yen, or 2.4 percent, to 3,330. Mitsui Fudosan Co., the nation's biggest, fell 100 yen, or 2.8 percent, to 3,430. The Tokyo Stock Exchange's REIT Index, which tracks all Real Estate Investment Trusts listed on the TSE, slid 1.7 percent to 2309.56, the lowest since March 16.
The BIS said in its annual report published yesterday a 37 percent rebound in the cost of oil since mid-January as well as rising wages, increasing capacity utilization and falling unemployment may be stoking inflation.
Central banks have fueled economic growth by keeping borrowing costs at relatively low levels, the BIS said. In the period under review, to May 2007, interest rates ``remained highly accommodative in the industrial countries'' after being raised only ``moderately.'' The BIS is known as the ``central banks' central bank.''
Falling Yen
The Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan index may show confidence among the nation's largest manufacturers probably stayed close to a two-year high, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The central bank is scheduled to release the survey on July 2. Stronger-than-expected figures may prompt the BOJ to raise interest rates at a faster pace than anticipated.
Advantest, the world's No. 1 maker of memory-chip testing equipment, gained 60 yen, or 1.1 percent, to 5,550. Fanuc, the world's biggest factory-robot maker, rose 180 yen, or 1.4 percent, to 12,960, reversing a loss of as much as 1.1 percent.
The yen dropped to a record low of 166.86 against the euro last week and slid against the dollar to 123.89, the lowest level since Dec. 6, 2002. The Japanese currency recently traded at 166.73 against the euro and 123.88 per dollar.
Actos Cuts Risk
Japan's large manufacturers forecast the yen will be at around 114 yen to the dollar for the business year ending March 2008, the Tankan for the last quarter showed on April 2.
A weaker yen increases the value of Japanese companies' overseas sales when converted into local currency and make their products more competitive.
Advantest and Fanuc both forecast Japan's currency will trade at 115 yen against the dollar on average this financial year.
Exporters reliant on North American sales fell after reports said Bear Stearns offered $3.2 billion in loans to bail out the High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund, which lost about 20 percent this year because of bad bets on collateralized-debt obligations.
Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest automaker by market value, lost 40 yen, or 0.5 percent, to 7,660. Sony Corp., the world's No. 1 video-game maker, fell 90 yen, or 1.4 percent, to 6,460. Toyota made 35 percent of its total sales in North America in 2006 and the U.S. is Sony's largest overseas market.
Victor-Kenwood Merger
Takeda advanced 90 yen, or 1.2 percent, to 7,950. Takeda's Actos drug is in the same family as GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Avandia, which was shown in a study last month to increase patient's chances of having a heart attack by 43 percent. The Actos data suggests the problems with Avandia aren't tied to other medicines in the same family and may lead physicians to favor Actos as they switch patients from Avandia to other drugs.
Victor jumped 12 yen, or 3 percent, to 407, the most since Feb. 21, after surging as much as 9.9 percent. Matsushita, the world's biggest consumer electronics maker, added 20 yen, or 0.8 percent, to 2,475.
Victor, Matsushita and Kenwood are discussing final terms on the sale of Victor after the unprofitable company agreed to a merger with Kenwood, two people familiar with the issue told Bloomberg News, asking not to be identified because the talks are confidential.
Matsushita, which owns more than 52 percent of Victor, has been seeking a buyer of the company for several years. Victor is forecasting a fourth straight loss this year and Kenwood has previously been among candidates to buy the company. With the buyout, Tokyo-based Kenwood will gain the JVC brand for car audio and navigation systems and home-use stereo sets.
Nikkei futures expiring in September fell 0.7 percent to 18,100 in Osaka and Singapore.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Morgan Stanley Real Estate to buy 13 ANA properties in Japan
Morgan Stanley Real Estate to buy 13 ANA properties in Japan
Apr 13, 2007
H&MM Week In Review
Singapore - April 13, 2007 - Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels ("Firm") as joint advisor to All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd ("ANA") is pleased to announce the JPY281.3 billion (approximately USD2.36 billion) sale of ANA's 13 owned and leased hotels in Japan ("Portfolio") to Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund.
Said Mr Scott Hetherington, Managing Director of the Firm in Asia, who jointly led the transaction with Mr Tomohiko Sawayanagi, the Firm's Executive Vice President in Japan, "This is the largest hotel transaction in Asia Pacific and one of the biggest real estate sales the region has experienced. The sale underlines the strength of the region's capital markets and in particular, investors' desire for real estate in the world's second largest economy."
Mr Hetherington commented that global investors were approached for the Portfolio which has a total of approximately 5,000 rooms located throughout Japan and includes market leading properties such as the ANA-InterContinental Tokyo and its sister property on Manza Beach in Okinawa. "Through a highly competitive process, bids were received from investors not only in Japan but also from Asia and North America. The level of interest was reflective of the scarcity of opportunity to buy a portfolio of this size and the desire of international investors to consider hotel investments," Mr Hetherington added.
According to Mr Sawayanagi the sale is the culmination of four years' work by the Firm which started when ANA began to review whether hotels were a core business for the airline. "We were appointed to conduct a tender process to seek an international management company to form a joint venture with ANA to manage the 33 hotels it owned, leased and operated in Japan and internationally. Critical to the success of this joint venture was finding a partner who would not only provide career opportunities for the staff but also deliver international best practice, operational expertise and marketing to all the hotels. InterContinental Hotels Group were the successful party and on December 1, 2006, IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan was founded," Mr Sawayanagi said. Subsequently on the April 1, 2007 the ANA Hotel Tokyo was re-branded as the ANA-InterContinental Tokyo and over the coming months the remainder of the owned and leased hotels in the Portfolio will be re-branded under the ANA-InterContinental, ANA-Crowne Plaza and ANA-Holiday Inn flags. The Portfolio was offered for sale with the benefit of long term operating agreements with IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan. Mr Hetherington explained, "Historically the hotel investment market in Asia has been driven by owner operators but we have seen a profound change in this view over the past few years with investors being happy to acquire hotels which are encumbered by operating agreements that fairly share the risks and rewards between owners and operators." Mr Hetherington noted the sale by the Firm of the Swissotel Merchant Court and the Intercontinental Hotel in Singapore last year as further evidence of this trend. Mr Sawayanagi added, "The Portfolio presented a tremendous opportunity for the purchaser to work with the new operating joint venture to reposition and refurbish the hotels and to benefit from an ever strengthening domestic consumer market in Japan."
Apr 13, 2007
H&MM Week In Review
Singapore - April 13, 2007 - Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels ("Firm") as joint advisor to All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd ("ANA") is pleased to announce the JPY281.3 billion (approximately USD2.36 billion) sale of ANA's 13 owned and leased hotels in Japan ("Portfolio") to Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund.
Said Mr Scott Hetherington, Managing Director of the Firm in Asia, who jointly led the transaction with Mr Tomohiko Sawayanagi, the Firm's Executive Vice President in Japan, "This is the largest hotel transaction in Asia Pacific and one of the biggest real estate sales the region has experienced. The sale underlines the strength of the region's capital markets and in particular, investors' desire for real estate in the world's second largest economy."
Mr Hetherington commented that global investors were approached for the Portfolio which has a total of approximately 5,000 rooms located throughout Japan and includes market leading properties such as the ANA-InterContinental Tokyo and its sister property on Manza Beach in Okinawa. "Through a highly competitive process, bids were received from investors not only in Japan but also from Asia and North America. The level of interest was reflective of the scarcity of opportunity to buy a portfolio of this size and the desire of international investors to consider hotel investments," Mr Hetherington added.
According to Mr Sawayanagi the sale is the culmination of four years' work by the Firm which started when ANA began to review whether hotels were a core business for the airline. "We were appointed to conduct a tender process to seek an international management company to form a joint venture with ANA to manage the 33 hotels it owned, leased and operated in Japan and internationally. Critical to the success of this joint venture was finding a partner who would not only provide career opportunities for the staff but also deliver international best practice, operational expertise and marketing to all the hotels. InterContinental Hotels Group were the successful party and on December 1, 2006, IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan was founded," Mr Sawayanagi said. Subsequently on the April 1, 2007 the ANA Hotel Tokyo was re-branded as the ANA-InterContinental Tokyo and over the coming months the remainder of the owned and leased hotels in the Portfolio will be re-branded under the ANA-InterContinental, ANA-Crowne Plaza and ANA-Holiday Inn flags. The Portfolio was offered for sale with the benefit of long term operating agreements with IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan. Mr Hetherington explained, "Historically the hotel investment market in Asia has been driven by owner operators but we have seen a profound change in this view over the past few years with investors being happy to acquire hotels which are encumbered by operating agreements that fairly share the risks and rewards between owners and operators." Mr Hetherington noted the sale by the Firm of the Swissotel Merchant Court and the Intercontinental Hotel in Singapore last year as further evidence of this trend. Mr Sawayanagi added, "The Portfolio presented a tremendous opportunity for the purchaser to work with the new operating joint venture to reposition and refurbish the hotels and to benefit from an ever strengthening domestic consumer market in Japan."
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Tokyo's tallest skyscraper an aesthetic focus
Tokyo's tallest skyscraper an aesthetic focus
Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura
Friday, March 30, 2007
Tokyo today opens to the public its tallest skyscraper, featuring top-notch shops, restaurants and even a hospital as the metropolis tries to project a slicker, sexier image than its rising Asian rivals.
Tokyo Midtown, built on what used to be the Defense Agency headquarters, is the latest giant urban complex to transform the downtown area of the world's most populous city.
Rising 248 meters, the central tower of the pentagonal complex is the city's tallest structure apart from the uninhabited Tokyo Tower.
Besides 132 shops and restaurants, the new site features a Ritz-Carlton - the most expensive hotel in an already expensive city - and a medical center affiliated with Baltimore's prestigious Johns Hopkins University.
It also includes the Suntory Museum, the second major new art gallery to open in Tokyo this year, and pricey condominiums.
The designers said Tokyo Midtown is meant to show a more sensitive, aesthetically aware side of Japan, the world's second largest economy.
"Through Midtown, we aim to turn Tokyo into the center of intellectual creativity for business and culture in Japan, Asia and the world," said Hiromitsu Iwasa, head of Mitsui Real Estate in charge of the project. "We also want this area to be the centre from which Japanese values and aesthetic sense will be sent out to the world," he said.
A consortium of six companies built the 69,000 square-meter complex at a cost of 370 billion yen (HK$24.46 billion).
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton will cost up to 2.1 million yen a night for suites at the top of the tower with a view of Mount Fuji.
"We will have no shortage of people coming in the doors," said Simon Cooper, president of the US-based Ritz-Carlton company, noting Japan's passion for luxury goods.
"It's the nightclub syndrome: the newest club is going to get visitors. Our challenge is to make that visit so exquisite that they want to come back."
In one corner of Tokyo Midtown is the 21-21 Design Site, Japan's first institute dedicated to studying the creative process of design.
"Japan is essentially known as an economic powerhouse, and we want to show the world another face - one of design and aesthetics," said architect Tadao Ando, who developed 21-21 with fashion designer Issey Miyake.
Miyake hopes the institute will help change a society "solely focused on consumption."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura
Friday, March 30, 2007
Tokyo today opens to the public its tallest skyscraper, featuring top-notch shops, restaurants and even a hospital as the metropolis tries to project a slicker, sexier image than its rising Asian rivals.
Tokyo Midtown, built on what used to be the Defense Agency headquarters, is the latest giant urban complex to transform the downtown area of the world's most populous city.
Rising 248 meters, the central tower of the pentagonal complex is the city's tallest structure apart from the uninhabited Tokyo Tower.
Besides 132 shops and restaurants, the new site features a Ritz-Carlton - the most expensive hotel in an already expensive city - and a medical center affiliated with Baltimore's prestigious Johns Hopkins University.
It also includes the Suntory Museum, the second major new art gallery to open in Tokyo this year, and pricey condominiums.
The designers said Tokyo Midtown is meant to show a more sensitive, aesthetically aware side of Japan, the world's second largest economy.
"Through Midtown, we aim to turn Tokyo into the center of intellectual creativity for business and culture in Japan, Asia and the world," said Hiromitsu Iwasa, head of Mitsui Real Estate in charge of the project. "We also want this area to be the centre from which Japanese values and aesthetic sense will be sent out to the world," he said.
A consortium of six companies built the 69,000 square-meter complex at a cost of 370 billion yen (HK$24.46 billion).
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton will cost up to 2.1 million yen a night for suites at the top of the tower with a view of Mount Fuji.
"We will have no shortage of people coming in the doors," said Simon Cooper, president of the US-based Ritz-Carlton company, noting Japan's passion for luxury goods.
"It's the nightclub syndrome: the newest club is going to get visitors. Our challenge is to make that visit so exquisite that they want to come back."
In one corner of Tokyo Midtown is the 21-21 Design Site, Japan's first institute dedicated to studying the creative process of design.
"Japan is essentially known as an economic powerhouse, and we want to show the world another face - one of design and aesthetics," said architect Tadao Ando, who developed 21-21 with fashion designer Issey Miyake.
Miyake hopes the institute will help change a society "solely focused on consumption."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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