* Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co. Ltd.'s shares rose18% to close at HK$45.95 on March 31, after it announced that its parent is consideringtaking it private, justa little over a year from when it debuted in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post reported.
DalianWanda Group might also list the property developer's shares on mainland Chinesestock markets, as the price of Dalian Wanda Commercial's shares in Hong Kong haveundervalued the company, according to the publication, citing an unnamed sourcefrom Dalian Wanda Group and David Hong, head of research at consultancy China RealEstate Information Corp.
* The Australian Financial Review carried areporton how equity brokers have and are expected to continue to pursue the Lowy family's4% stake in Scentre Group,regardless of how many times the family refuses. The Lowy family owns around 220million shares in the Australian property developer, with a potential sale valuingthe shares at nearly A$980 million, according to the publication.
* Link Real Estate Investment Trust plans to sell the ShekYam Property to Yan Yan Motors Ltd. and the Wan Tau Tong Property to ProsperousGlory Investment (H.K.) Ltd. for a combined price of HK$1.69 billion. The REIT intendsto use the net proceeds, worth an estimated HK$1.68 billion, for general corporatepurposes.
HONG KONG AND CHINA
* Greentown China Holdings Ltd. expects to reap around US$397million from its issuanceof US$400 million of securities.
Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Ltd. and The Hongkong and ShanghaiBanking Corp. Ltd. are the joint global coordinators. Placing agents include UBSAG Hong Kong Branch and the joint global coordinators.
* saidit and its subsidiaries recorded around 7.21 billion Chinese yuan of contractedsales in March, corresponding to 607,300 square meters of gross floor area.
* Moody's said posted "weak" financialresults for 2015, although they aligned with expectations. The company'searnings for the year will also not immediately affect its B2 corporate family ratingand negative outlook.
Franco Leung, a Moody's vice president and senior analyst, saidin a note that the company recorded a material increase in debt leverage in 2015,but debt growth in 2016 could increase moderately.
* Fitch Ratings saidLongfor Properties Co. Ltd.'s"strong" brand name and leading position in first- and second-tier Chinesecities will allow it to benefit further from a rising demand from real estate upgraders.The company's financial results for 2015 will not affect its ratings and are inline with expectations, according to the rating agency.
First- and second-tier cities accounted for more than 77% ofLongfor's 2015 contracted salesworth 54.54 billion yuan, indicating the property developer's focus on these areas,Fitch added.
* Meanwhile, Moody'ssaid Longfor's earnings for fiscal year 2015 reflected the company's "strong"recurring income growth, steady gross margins and EBIT interest coverage, despitea tough operating environment.
* Standard & Poor'sRatings Services said it affirmed its BBB- long-term corporate credit rating onChina Overseas Land & InvestmentLtd.'s subsidiary, China Overseas Grand Oceans Group Ltd. The outlookis negative.
The affirmed ratings reflected the unit's stable financial managementand better balance sheet. It also reflected its prudent system for land purchase,management of liabilities, partially established market position and "strongsupport" from its parent company, according to S&P.
* Average residentialreal estate prices in 100 mainland China cities in March was 11,303 yuan per squaremeter, up 7.41% year over year, according to data released by the China Index Academy,which was reportedby China Securities News.
* The China Academyof Social Sciences forecasts that house price growth in second-tier cities willsoon accelerate, according to a report by Hexun.
AUSTRALIA
* Singapore-based Ascendas-SingbridgeGroup said in a news releasethat it completed its first acquisition of a commercial office building in the country,the 100 Arthur St. property in North Sydney for an undisclosed amount. Townwood Pty. Ltd. sold the InnovationPlace, a grade A commercial property with 20 floors, net lettable area of 27,395square meters and 137 car park lots.
* Greenland Australia seeks towork on a 900-apartment project at a 1.53-hectare land parcel in Macquarie Park,Sydney, which will be spread on six mixed-use towers, the AFR reported.
* Moody's said Australian homemortgage delinquencies will slightly increase over 2016, due to "below-trend"economic growth and a slower home price growth in certain cities.
JAPAN
* said it completedthe purchase of four hotelsand a residential property for a combined price of around ¥66.70 billion.
The company bought the Hotel MyStays Gotanda Station, Hotel EpinardNasu, Hotel MyStays Fukuoka Tenjin and Hotel MyStays Hamamatsucho for an aggregateprice of ¥61.67 billion, while the Royal Parks Shinden residential asset was acquiredfor ¥5.02 billion.
* A unit of MitsuiCo. Ltd. will develop a 27-story commercial building in Nishi-Shimbashi, Minato,Tokyo, The Nikkei reported.Construction for the ¥45 billion project will start in 2018.
* The Ministry ofLand, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said housing starts increased 7.8% yearover year to 72,831 in February, The Nikkeireported.The construction of rental homes surged 12.5% to 28,871 units in the same period.
* The ministry alsoreported a 0.1% rise in average land prices nationwide as of Jan. 1, the first annualincrease since 2008, Jutaku-Shimpo-Shareported. Provincial areasoutpaced the three largest cities in land price inflation.
SINGAPORE
* CapitaLand Commercial Trust issuedHK$585.0 million fixed-rate notes due March 22, 2021. The notes are part of thetrust's S$2.00 billion multicurrency medium-term note program.
* CapitaLand Ltd. establishedAscott Orchard Management (S) Pte. Ltd. as its new subsidiary in Singapore. Theunit's principal activity involves asset management.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
* Sunway Hotels and Resorts plansto invest 875 million Malaysian ringgit for development and expansion projects inMalaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam over a three-year period, The (Malaysia) Star reported.The company expects to finish the plan by the second quarter of 2018.
Now featured
: The April 1 edition of the Asia-Pacificproperty news recap also features Kenedix Office's ¥15.55 billion purchase of aTokyo property and Frasers Hospitality Trust's third serviced residence in Jakarta.
: Just 15 months after its rock star entryonto the Hong Kong listed market, Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties is lookingat a delisting through privatization.
The Daily Dose Asia-Pacific, RealEstate edition is updated by 6:30 a.m. Hong Kong time. Some external links may requirea subscription. Articles and links are correct as of publication time.
S&P Ratings and S&P GlobalMarket Intelligence are owned by McGraw Hill Financial Inc.