* Hong Kong-based Hengli Investments Holding (Group) Ltd., an affiliate of Chinese conglomerate Hengli Group Co. Ltd., purchased the London headquarters of Lloyds Banking Group Plc. Earlier, the pair was said to be looking to strike a roughly £150 million deal for the 119,742-square-foot building at 25 Gresham St., which will remain on lease to the bank for the next 20 years, after the transaction's completion.
According to a Ming Pao News report, the property was acquired for £160 million.
* Tokyu Land Corp. is buying for ¥132.5 billion a five-asset portfolio in Tokyo from Veloqx Group under a partnership with Norwegian sovereign wealth fund Norges Bank Real Estate Management. The deal will serve as the Norwegian fund's first investment in Asia's real estate market, with it acquiring the 70% stake in the portfolio and Tokyu Land buying the rest.
* Investments in Asia Pacific's multifamily sector surged 87% year on year in the first three quarters of 2017 to US$15.1 billion, according to JLL, which noted that the increase was fueled by the lack of options in other classes and the expanding affordability gap in major cities.
Nick Wilson, JLL's head of APAC Capital Markets Research, predicted that the trend will be long as a lot of investors are testing the waters to figure out how they can make multifamily work. Multifamily, or build-to-rent, is an emerging asset class in countries such as Australia and China and a sector in its maturity in Japan.
Hong Kong and China
* The Hong Kong police is getting involved in Link Real Estate Investment Trust's ongoing feud with New People's Party Chairman and Founder Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, The (Hong Kong) Standard reported.
Ip, a member of the Executive Council that advises Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, said she welcomed the police assistance in the matter, which started when Link REIT allegedly threatened to evict members of the New People's Party from properties that it owns. Link REIT, Asia's largest REIT, already denied the allegations amid an ongoing HK$23 billion deal to divest a 17-mall portfolio in Hong Kong.
* Joy City Property Ltd., the Hong Kong-listed commercial property arm of Chinese state-owned conglomerate Cofco, is planning to expand its portfolio in China's tier one and tier two cities to 50 projects in five years and 100 projects in 10 years.
Joy City Chairman Zhou Zheng told the South China Morning Post that the company intends to utilize the 11.4 billion-yuan fund it established in August with Singaporean wealth fund GIC and insurance giant China Life to achieve its goal.
* Risesun Real Estate Development Co. Ltd. is developing scenic spots in China's Qianxi county as part of a framework agreement that its tourism investment arm signed with the local government, Reuters reported. The company has similar deals across China to develop tourism projects with the Qingyang People's Government, Yutian government in Tangshan and the Jiyuan City local government.
* In the first 11 months of 2017, China Resources Land Ltd. paid 89.23 billion yuan for the acquisition of 54 land parcels in China with a combined gross floor area of 10,790,266 square meters.
* During the same time frame, Longfor Properties Co. Ltd.'s 11-month contracted sales grew year over year by 85% to 148.44 billion yuan, representing 9,736,000 square meters of contracted sales area.
* China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. sold roughly 1,181,600 square meters of property in November to rake in nearly HK$18.74 billion in contracted sales, higher compared to the roughly HK$10.76 billion it recorded in the prior-year period. The company also acquired seven land parcels in China in the period, with gross floor area totaling 2,592,465.15 square meters, for about 13.18 billion yuan.
* China SCE Property Holdings Ltd. and Sino-Ocean Group Holding Ltd. saw their respective contracted sales climb 68% and 1% year over year in November to nearly 3.06 billion yuan and approximately 8.03 billion yuan.
* KWG Property Holding Ltd. issued, as planned, US$150 million of 6.00% senior notes due 2022. The new notes, which will be listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, will be consolidated with the company's previous offerings of US$400.0 million and US$100.0 million in the same senior note series.
* Shimao Properties Ltd. won a bid for a 320,000-square-meter commercial land parcel at its offer price of 23.94 billion yuan in Long Gang area in Shenzhen. The new project will enhance the company's presence in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Great Bay Area development as the area will become a link between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
The establishment on the land will have to be 600 meters in height according to the provision, meaning that it will break the record to be the highest building in Shenzhen, The Paper reported.
Australia
* Mirvac Group agreed to buy two prime neighboring sites in the central business district of Brisbane from Wee Hur Holdings Ltd. for A$79 million. A more than 0.5-hectare portion of the site is subject for approval from the seller's shareholders and the company securing Suncorp Group Ltd. to lease an office tower to be developed on the site.
* The Australian Federal Government reaped a combined A$122.5 million from the completed sale of its parliamentary triangle precinct in Canberra. Assets in the precinct, acquired separately by EG Funds Management, Amalgamated Property Group and GEOCON, will be transformed into new hotels, shops and office spaces, The Australian reported.
* Offshore groups are expected to lead the race for the A$100 million Sirius building in Sydney's Circular Quay harbor, which is being sold by the New South Wales government, The Australian reported. Foreigners are expected to compete with Australian developers, including Lendlease Corp. Ltd., which was called on by Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore to purchase and develop the property into an affordable housing project.
* Singaporean developer Straits Real Estate, as part of a joint venture with its 45SGT Unit Trust subsidiary and St Georges Terrace Real Estate Netherlands, acquired the 11-story 45 St Georges Terrace office building in Perth for A$54.2 million, according to The (Singapore) Business Times.
The deal's value is lower than the A$60 million reserve price attached to the property when Credit Suisse Group AG's real estate investment arm placed it on the market in June.
Japan
* Kenedix Office Investment Corp. wrapped up Dec. 7 its planned ¥14.72 billion acquisition of Mitsubishijuko Yokohama Building in Kanagawa.
India
* Jain Group subsidiary Dream Gateway Hotels Ltd. is attempting to raise roughly 390.0 million Indian rupees from the sale of its 25% interest in an initial public offering on the Bombay Stock Exchange, Livemint reported.
Dream Gateway, which has an existing deal with InterContinental Hotels Group Plc to operate the Holiday Inn hotel in Kolkata, is planning to sell 2.57 million shares at 150 rupees apiece.
Rollen Catorce and Emily Lai contributed to this report.
As of Dec. 7, US$1 was equivalent to 6.62 yuan, 64.58 Indian rupees and ¥112.73.
