HK group seeks failed China projects
Tom Mitchell, Robin Kwong, Hong Kong
April 14, 2007
HONG Kong's most prominent developer of property in China is to head an international consortium to invest in distressed real estate left in the rubble of China's construction boom.
Vincent Lo, chairman of Hong Kong-listed Shui On Construction and Materials, is teaming up with Spinnaker Capital, JP Morgan and others to form the company. China Central Properties will seek an overseas listing. Led by Socam, the partners will inject five properties valued at about $US250 million ($301 million) as well as $US200 million in cash.
According to Mr Lo, possible listing destinations include London's Aim, Euronext, Hong Kong's GEM and Singapore. Deutsche Bank is acting as sole global co-ordinator for China Central Properties. China's cities are littered with the concrete skeletons of office and residential properties abandoned during construction. According to CB Richard Ellis, the country's stock of unsold property reached 320 million square metres at the end of last year compared with 65 million square metres in 2000.
Such assets can be completed a year or two after new capital is injected. Mr Lo and partners are betting that China Central Properties can realise quick returns and avoid the headaches of traditional property investment, such as relocating and compensating residents.
"We will be entering the development at a late stage, so the risk is much lower," Mr Lo said at a briefing in Hong Kong. "It is not like developing a new site where you have to wait for design and the construction. This is much faster."
But investing in distressed assets - lan wei lou or "rotten tail buildings" - can involve legal risk. They are often the subject of Byzantine court spats involving bankrupt state companies and jilted Chinese banks.
Socam and partners have already invested in five lan wei lou in Beijing, Chengdu, Dalian and Qingdao.
The shares of Mr Lo's other Hong Kong-listed company, Shui On Land, have risen 20 per cent since last October when it raised $US880 million in a listing.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Singapore's GuocoLand May Double Investment in China on Demand
Singapore's GuocoLand May Double Investment in China on Demand
By Wing-Gar Cheng
April 14 (Bloomberg) -- GuocoLand Ltd., a Singapore-based developer controlled by Malaysian billionaire Quek Leng Chan, may double its investment in China this year to $5.4 billion to tap growing demand for new homes.
Unit GuocoLand China Ltd. is in talks, which may be completed in as soon as six months, about several projects in Tianjin, Beijing and Shanghai, Violet Lee, managing director of GuocoLand China, said in Beijing yesterday.
Singapore developers including CapitaLand Ltd. have expanded in China, the world's fastest-growing major economy, as construction increases amid rapid growth in the nation's urban population. The world's most populous country posted economic growth of 10.7 percent last year.
``I'm not building enough to meet China's demand,'' Lee said. ``With this rate of urbanization, there'll always be this continuous demand for housing.''
Guocoland China also plans to expand into the management of properties and real estate investment trusts, or REITS, by 2010, Lee said. The company has 2 million square meters of property reserves in China, she said.
``The market is just enormous,'' Lee said. ``The appetite is there, the need is there.''
Parent GuocoLand agreed to purchase a 90 percent stake in Beijing Cheng Jian Dong Hua Real Estate Development Co. for 5.8 billion yuan ($750 million), the company said in a statement to the Singapore stock exchange yesterday.
Development Rights
Beijing Cheng Jian owns the development and land use rights to the Dongzhimen site, a 106,000 square meter (26 acre) land parcel in central Beijing, the statement said. The property will be developed into a retail, hotel, office and residential complex with up to 600,000 square meters (6.5 million square feet) of space, the company said. Including the development cost for Dongzhimen, the agreement is valued at 10 billion yuan, according to the company.
The development includes a transportation hub and a rail link that will be able to take passengers to Beijing International Airport within 15 minutes, the statement said.
Shares of GuocoLand closed unchanged at S$4.20 in Singapore yesterday. The stock has risen 65 percent this year, compared with a 11 percent gain in the benchmark Straits Times Index.
By Wing-Gar Cheng
April 14 (Bloomberg) -- GuocoLand Ltd., a Singapore-based developer controlled by Malaysian billionaire Quek Leng Chan, may double its investment in China this year to $5.4 billion to tap growing demand for new homes.
Unit GuocoLand China Ltd. is in talks, which may be completed in as soon as six months, about several projects in Tianjin, Beijing and Shanghai, Violet Lee, managing director of GuocoLand China, said in Beijing yesterday.
Singapore developers including CapitaLand Ltd. have expanded in China, the world's fastest-growing major economy, as construction increases amid rapid growth in the nation's urban population. The world's most populous country posted economic growth of 10.7 percent last year.
``I'm not building enough to meet China's demand,'' Lee said. ``With this rate of urbanization, there'll always be this continuous demand for housing.''
Guocoland China also plans to expand into the management of properties and real estate investment trusts, or REITS, by 2010, Lee said. The company has 2 million square meters of property reserves in China, she said.
``The market is just enormous,'' Lee said. ``The appetite is there, the need is there.''
Parent GuocoLand agreed to purchase a 90 percent stake in Beijing Cheng Jian Dong Hua Real Estate Development Co. for 5.8 billion yuan ($750 million), the company said in a statement to the Singapore stock exchange yesterday.
Development Rights
Beijing Cheng Jian owns the development and land use rights to the Dongzhimen site, a 106,000 square meter (26 acre) land parcel in central Beijing, the statement said. The property will be developed into a retail, hotel, office and residential complex with up to 600,000 square meters (6.5 million square feet) of space, the company said. Including the development cost for Dongzhimen, the agreement is valued at 10 billion yuan, according to the company.
The development includes a transportation hub and a rail link that will be able to take passengers to Beijing International Airport within 15 minutes, the statement said.
Shares of GuocoLand closed unchanged at S$4.20 in Singapore yesterday. The stock has risen 65 percent this year, compared with a 11 percent gain in the benchmark Straits Times Index.
Phase I of Kuwait’s $1 billion shopping & leisure destination unveiled
Phase I of Kuwait’s $1 billion shopping & leisure destination unveiled
11-Apr-2007
The Avenues, a premier shopping and leisure destination in Kuwait
His Highness the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah has officially launched phase I of The Avenues, the premier shopping and leisure destination being developed by Mabanee, Kuwait’s premier real estate developer; the project is set to be Kuwait’s largest commercial real estate development.
The Avenues is the first major project conceived and developed by Mabanee. The landmark project will be opened in four phases involving an overall investment of $1 billion and is set to be Kuwait’s premier shopping, leisure and business destination when completed in 2010. Speaking at a press conference held during the launch, Mohammed Abdulaziz Alshaya, Chairman of Mabanee and M.H. Alshaya Company, said: “The Avenues will not only emerge as one of Kuwait’s premier leisure and shopping destinations and redefine retailing in the region, but will provide a boost to the economy and prestige of Kuwait."
The Avenues will host the widest selection of international brands in the region spread over 216 stores including Kuwait’s first Carrefour hypermarket, the region’s largest IKEA store, Cinescape, (a ten-screen Cinema complex), in addition to a mall, numerous restaurants and cafes. The mall’s design comes from world-renowned architects Norr Consultants International, a firm that has built some of the most distinctive real estate developments in the Middle East, including the Emirates Towers in Dubai.
11-Apr-2007
The Avenues, a premier shopping and leisure destination in Kuwait
His Highness the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah has officially launched phase I of The Avenues, the premier shopping and leisure destination being developed by Mabanee, Kuwait’s premier real estate developer; the project is set to be Kuwait’s largest commercial real estate development.
The Avenues is the first major project conceived and developed by Mabanee. The landmark project will be opened in four phases involving an overall investment of $1 billion and is set to be Kuwait’s premier shopping, leisure and business destination when completed in 2010. Speaking at a press conference held during the launch, Mohammed Abdulaziz Alshaya, Chairman of Mabanee and M.H. Alshaya Company, said: “The Avenues will not only emerge as one of Kuwait’s premier leisure and shopping destinations and redefine retailing in the region, but will provide a boost to the economy and prestige of Kuwait."
The Avenues will host the widest selection of international brands in the region spread over 216 stores including Kuwait’s first Carrefour hypermarket, the region’s largest IKEA store, Cinescape, (a ten-screen Cinema complex), in addition to a mall, numerous restaurants and cafes. The mall’s design comes from world-renowned architects Norr Consultants International, a firm that has built some of the most distinctive real estate developments in the Middle East, including the Emirates Towers in Dubai.
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