* China Vanke Co. Ltd. said its first-half net profit rose 29.79% to 11.84 billion yuan from 9.12 billion yuan a year earlier, driven by higher home sales in major Chinese cities. Revenue increased 32.86% to 139.32 billion yuan from 104.86 billion yuan in the prior year.
* Morgan Stanley said Hong Kong property prices could fall up to 10% in the coming nine to 12 months, after the investment bank cut the city's 2019 GDP forecast to between contracting 0.3% and growing 1% from the prior year, The Oriental Daily reported.
Hong Kong and China
* Hong Kong's Buildings Department approved 21 plans in June. Nine applications are residential or mixed developments, four are commercial developments, and seven are industrial developments. The authority also green-lighted six projects to start construction, which are expected to provide a total of 97 flats.
* China Resources Land Ltd. said its first-half net profit rose 43.8% to 12.73 billion yuan from 8.85 billion yuan a year earlier. The board declared a dividend of 12.9 fen per share, up 17.3% from 11 fen per share in the prior year.
* State-controlled cement producer BBMG Corp. acquired a 44-story office building in Beijing, China, for 5.19 billion yuan. The building has 139,300 square meters of office space, Guandian reported.
* CK Asset Holdings Ltd. applied to Hong Kong's Town Planning Board to convert a 13,920-square-meter comprehensive development area in Tai Po to residential use. The developer proposed to build five residential blocks, which will provide 1,462 flats.
* MTR Corp. Ltd. said Linda So Ka-pik is stepping down as corporate affairs director, as well as a member of the executive directorate and corporate responsibility committee, effective Jan. 16, 2020.
* Wheelock Properties Ltd. will soon unveil selling prices of its Marini development in Lohas Park, Hong Kong, The Mingpao reported. The project will provide 647 flats ranging from 370 to 770 square feet and is estimated to be completed in 2021.
India
* Housing Development and Infrastructure said Bank of India, one of its creditors, filed an insolvency plea to the National Company Law Tribunal against the company. The debt-ridden real estate company said it is in the process to file an appeal. Mint reported that Housing Development and Infrastructure owes about 5.2 billion Indian rupees to Bank of India and had agreed to settle it in tranches.
Australia
* Property investor Charter Hall Group, which manages approximately A$40 billion worth of funds, has A$3 billion worth of "firepower" to expand, The Australian reported, citing CEO David Harrison. Chronically low interest rates have increased the allure of commercial properties, such as offices and warehouses, for institutional investors, he added.
* A Charter Hall Group-managed fund is close to selling a heritage commercial building in Brisbane, Australia, to Elanor Investors Group for approximately A$45 million, The Australian Financial Review reported, without citing sources. The sale price of the seven-story property, which counts coworking space provider Hub Australia as a key tenant, represents a yield of about 7% for Charter Hall.
Japan
* Japan's Ichigo Asset Management disclosed a 5.56% interest in hotel chain UNIZO Holdings Co. Ltd., which recently became a takeover target of a SoftBank Group company and travel agency H.I.S. Co., Reuters reported.
The Daily Dose Asia-Pacific, Real Estate edition is updated by 6:30 a.m. Hong Kong time. Some external links may require a subscription. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.
Zia Ullah Khan, Emily Lai and Jaekwon Lim contributed to this report.
