* Singaporean sovereignwealth fund GIC agreedto acquire a 25% stake in French REIT CeGeREALfor €35.65 per share. New York-based Northwood Investors LLC was the seller.
* unit GuangzhouTianjian Real Estate Development Ltd. plansto issue nonpublic domestic corporate bonds at an up to 6.50 billion Chinese yuanaggregate principal amount.
* appears to be losing itsluster, with its global "mini-major" tenants paying 50% of the occupancycosts of its local peers, The Australian FinancialReview reported,citing UBS analysts. The analysts recommend a "neutral" rating on Scentre'sstock, with a price target of A$4.38, adding that the company will need to sellas much as A$2.5 billion of assets to reduce heading down to the midpoint of thepreferred 30%-to-35% range.
* Greenland Groupis preparing to hire BNP Paribas, Bank of Malaysia, Standard Chartered and UnitedOverseas Bank to arrange the launch of its plannedREIT to be floated on the Singapore exchange, according to Guandian.
HONG KONG AND CHINA
* logged a roughlyHK$3.5 million first case of deposit forfeiture at its Ultima Phase II developmentin Ho Man Tin, Hong Kong, The (Hong Kong) Standard reported. Theproject received pre-sale consentfrom the Lands Department in December 2015.
Kerry PropertiesLtd. executive director Chu Yip-pui, meanwhile, told the publicationthat the company has gained more than 250 flat subscriptions thus far at its MantinHeights property in Ho Man Tin.
The publication also reports that Kerry, Wheelock and Co. Ltd., New World Development Co. Ltd. and several other developershave expressed interest in the Urban Renewal Authority's Pine Street housing projectin Tai Kok Tsui. The residential development, which could fetch HK$314 million,would offer around 115 flats and 7,739 square meters of commercial space.
* plans to fully redeem itsoutstanding 7.125% senior notesdue 2022 at a redemption price equal to 100% of their principal amount, plus theapplicable premium as of, and any accrued and unpaid interest to but not includingthe redemption date. The company has set June 6 as the redemption date for the notes,which had an outstanding principal amount of about US$253.3 million as of April7, according to a filing.
Separately, Moody's downgraded the company's corporate familyrating and senior unsecured debt rating on its bonds due November 2022 to Ba3 fromBa2, with a negative outlook. SOHO China is likely to maintain its "weak"credit metrics in the next 12 to 18 months, resulting in the downgrade, Moody'sanalyst Stephanie Lau said.
* is offering its propertiesat about 20% lower than competing developments in Hong Kong's West Mid-Levels ascompetition intensifies among developers in the city, accordingto the South China Morning Post. SwireProperties released the price list for the first batch of 50 flats at its Alassioscheme, with offerings of up to a 5% discount.
* saidits full-year 2015 financial results will be delayed and expects to publish theresults on or before April 15. The company said earlier that its controlling shareholder,Best Era International Ltd., is stillweighing whether to proceed with a "possible privatization" of the company.
AUSTRALIA
* has acquired the remaining 50%stake it did not already own in the 22,795-square-meter Sugarland Shoppingtown inBundaberg, Queensland, for roughly A$61.5 million, The Australian reported.The company initially acquireda 50% stake in the asset from an AMP Capital client for about A$59.3 million inOctober 2014.
The company now fully owns the property, which is anchored byBig W, Woolworths and JB Hi-Fi. It will be renamed Stockland Bundaberg.
* Australia's HighCourt has denied an APN Property Group-managed fund's appeal against a VictorianSupreme Court of Appeal ruling that favored Grocon in a dispute concerning the timingof payments related to their A$180 million joint venture development in centralMelbourne, the AFR reported.The companies had formed the joint venture to build the tower at , which was completed in 2014.
* Home rents in Australiafell by 0.5% and unit rents saw a 1.5% increase in 2015, the AFR reported,citing CoreLogic RP Data. Melbourne experienced the biggest growth in rental rates,rising 2%, with Sydney and Canberra following closely at respective growth ratesof 1.4% and 1.2%.
* Real estate investmentsamong ultra-high-net-worth individuals could see a marginally slower pace of growthin the years ahead, with 40% of such individuals expected to boost their real estateholdings in the next 10 years, compared to 54% who did so in the past decade, KnightFrank experts toldAFR, citing The Wealth Report 2016. Theexperts also reportedly said that Sydney, which is expected to see a 10% rise inprime residential prices in 2016, has now become the eighth most important cityworldwide for such individuals.
* In New Zealand,Kiwi Property Group Ltdinked a NZ$192.5 million deal to acquire a half stake in The Base shopping centerin Hamilton and offered to buy the remaining stake for NZ$197.5 million, BusinessDeskreported.The company's cash-and-stock proposal puts the property's value at NZ$390 million.The company's offer for the remaining stake will be considered by the seller, TainuiGroup Holdings, soon.
JAPAN
* Renovated vintagetowers remain attractive among tenants in Tokyo, despite the boom in high-rise constructionin Japan's capital city, the Nikkei AsianReview reported.Citing Japan Real Estate Institute, the publication noted that as of 2015, the cityhas 15 high-rise buildings that are 40 years or older and have a minimum heightof 60 meters.
Sumitomo Realty& Development Co. Ltd.'s Shinjuku Sumitomo Building, commonly knownas the Sumitomo Sankaku Building, is set to undergo an over ¥10 billion face-liftthis summer, while Mitsui FudosanCo. Ltd.'s Kasumigaseki Building has undergone three major renovationswith an aggregate cost of ¥60 billion. MitsubishiEstate Co. Ltd.'s 10-story Marunouchi-Nakadori Building in Marunouchialso was renovated to house small offices rented out to multiple tenants, therebyboosting the asset's value.
* acquiredthe Park Axis Magome Residence and Park Axis Higashi Ueno for an aggregate of ¥2.7million, excluding acquisition costs and applicable taxes. The seller was MitsuiFudosan Residential Co. Ltd., according to a filing.
* disclosed in a filing thatit will issue, via third-party allotment, 4,792 new investment units at ¥159,347per unit for a gross value of roughly ¥763.6 million. The payment date is slatedfor April 12.
* According to officebrokerage firm Miki Shoji Co. Ltd., office vacancy rates in Tokyo's five centralwards rose to 4.34% at the end of March from 4.04% at the end of February, The Mainichi Shimbun reported.
* A multibillion-yenredevelopment project to build a cluster of commercial buildings in front of EastJapan Railway Co.'s Chiba Station in Chiba Prefecture will get off the ground inOctober for completion in 2021, Tokyo's TheNikkei reported.Its flagship building will be 10-stories tall with a gross floor area of 24,500square meters.
SINGAPORE
* Moody's said itassigned the S$130 million notes issued by AscendasReal Estate Investment Trust's trustee an A3 senior unsecured ratingwith a stable outlook, citing the parent's "established" market edge asone of the largest S-REITs and its high-quality, diversified industrial assets.
PHILIPPINES
* Demand for officespaces in Metro Manila has seen "remarkable" growth, thanks to the growthof offshoring and outsourcing firms in the country, according to KMC MAG Group Inc.co-founder and Managing Director Michael McCullough. Net take-up for the area'spremium and grade A office spaces came to a record high of 459,000 square metersin 2015, McCullough said in a release.
Julius Guevara, an analyst at Colliers International, also toldBloomberg News that over 1.4 million square meters of office space is expected inManila in the next two years, thanks to the outsourcing industry.
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After Anbang-Starwood,timing of another China-US hotel deal is uncertain: A joint venturebetween Hersha Hospitality Trust and Cindat Capital Management, originally forecastto close by March 31, is now expected to be completed in the second quarter.
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