* Wheelock and Co. Ltd.'s profit attributable to shareholders jumped 37.8% in the first half of 2018 to HK$8.60 billion from the HK$6.24 billion recorded a year ago. During the period, the diversified property group's operating profit decreased to HK$9.65 billion from HK$9.70 billion.
* With the help of strong sales and improved margins, Poly Real Estate Group Co. Ltd.'s net profit in the six months ended June 30 grew 15.13% year over year to approximately 6.51 billion yuan. The Chinese developer also saw its revenue rise by 9.28% on an annual basis to an estimated 59.51 billion yuan.
* Ucommune's valuation amounted to US$1.8 billion upon the completion of a 300 million-yuan fundraising led by investors including Road King Infrastructure Ltd., DealStreetAsia reported. Mao Daqing, founder and chairman of the Chinese coworking space provider, said that the latest amount collected will be used to upgrade the company's services and further the company's global expansion.
Australia
* Geoff Grady, Aveo Group Ltd. CEO, said the retirement village operator will conduct a strategic review to examine various options for its retirement business. The plan also includes the possibility of introducing Australian or offshore capital partners.
* Dexus, in an effort to replenish its industrial development pipeline in its core locations, signed three separate deals totaling A$188 million for the acquisition of three development sites in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Projects intended for the targeted properties are expected to have a combined A$700 million valuation after development.
* Separately, Dexus' partnership with Frasers Property Ltd.'s Australian arm for the redevelopment of the Henry Deane Plaza in Sydney's Central station has been approved by the New South Wales government for stage 2 planning. The project, according to The Australian, will form part of the state government's up to A$8 billion refurbishment plan for the area.
* Melbourne-based Shakespeare Property Group struck an approximately A$100 million deal with Abacus Property Group to buy the AccorHotels-managed Novotel Twin Waters Resort on the Sunshine Coast, The Australian reported.
The soon-to-be new owner of the 361-room hotel, which was previously eyed by Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co. Ltd., could transform the property's 48.6-hectare site into a luxury project from a midscale accommodation, the publication added.
* A developer family in Sydney is selling the 12-level Australian head office of consumer goods group Kimberly Clark, in Sydney, for approximately A$190 million, The Australian Financial Review reported. Known as Kimberly Clark House, the 10,000-square-meter building occupies a 2,711-square-meter site at 52 Alfred St.
Hong Kong and China
* An indirect subsidiary of ZH International Holdings Ltd. placed the winning 2.48 billion-yuan bid for a 68,818.90-square-meter residential land parcel in Zhengzhou, China. To fund the purchase, ZH International signed a deal with its controlling shareholder to borrow an amount equivalent to the bid consideration.
* China Resources Land Ltd.'s contracted sales amounted to about 21.39 billion yuan in July, up 61.7% from the 10.71 billion yuan recorded in the prior-year period. In the same month, the company and its subsidiaries bought seven land plots across China for nearly 4.70 billion yuan.
* China SCE Property Holdings Ltd. is expecting its profit attributable to owners of the parent to increase by at least 70% year on year during the six-month period ended June 30.
* Dairy Farm International Holdings is asking for tenders for its 5,000-square-foot sea view land on Sassoon Road in Pokfulam on Hong Kong Island, Apple Daily reported. The land parcel, which can be redeveloped into a 22,000-square-foot mansion, was given a valuation of HK$2 billion by market experts.
* The Shenzhen Planning Bureau issued a supplement to its earlier property regulation to prohibit the sale of business apartments, China Internet Information Center reported. The new law requires that all business apartments can only be rented and the designated land use cannot be altered.
* Property investments in China rose 10.2% in the first seven months of 2018 to 6.59 trillion yuan, with 70.5% flowing into residential projects, according to National Bureau of Statistics data. Residential property investments rose 14.2% and 7.28 billion square meters of housing was built in the period.
Philippines
* Filipino developer Vista Land & Lifescapes confirmed in a filing its plans to issue bonds and loans to raise between 5 billion pesos and 10 billion pesos for capital expenditures and the refinancing of maturing debt.
India
* Blackstone Group LP is reportedly in the final stages of discussion with The Xander Group Inc. for the approximately 20 billion-rupee divestment of two IT parks in Pune. Xander's fellow Singaporean company, CapitaLand Ltd., was initially under negotiations to buy the properties that were marketed with the help of Morgan Stanley.
Japan
* NTT Urban Development Corp. started the construction of a new five-story hotel in Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, Jutaku-Shimpo-Sha reported.
* The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will relax residential housing construction rules for properties catering to the housing needs of foreigners including expatriates working for international companies, Tokyo's The Nikkei reported.
* Data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism showed that new housing construction investment fell 9.7% year over year in June to ¥586.4 billion, Housing Industry News reported.
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Rollen Catorce, Emily Lai and Jaekwon Lim contributed to this report.