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China plans property taxes; HNA's Kai Tak, Hong Kong, land bank down to 1

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China plans property taxes; HNA's Kai Tak, Hong Kong, land bank down to 1

S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of Asia-Pacific real estate news stories and more published throughout the week. Please note that some entries may have links to third-party sources that may require a subscription.

Tax in 2020

* Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in his government work report that ironing out property tax legislation is part of his government's top tasks for 2018. The mainland, which has embarked on a plan to impose annual property taxes for over a decade, expects to implement one by 2020.

Major property news

* An HNA Group Co. Ltd. subsidiary is selling a residential site in Kai Tak, Kowloon, Hong Kong, for about HK$6.36 billion to a unit of Wheelock and Co. Ltd. The 7,318-square-meter property at the former site of Hong Kong's international airport was originally purchased in January 2017 for HK$5.53 billion.

With the sale, HNA's portfolio in the Kai Tak area has been reduced to one from four. It earlier agreed to sell two pieces of land in the area to Henderson Land Development Co. Ltd. for HK$16 billion in a reported bid to trim its growing debt.

* Australian developer Stockland has had an eventful week. On Monday, it was reported that it was partnering with fast-food giant McDonald's for the development of a 350-apartment scheme in Parramatta, Sydney, and midweek, it was reported to have placed on the market a half stake in an A$800 million shopping center in New South Wales.

* A commercial development site in Hong Kong's West Kowloon area is tipped to receive bids of between HK$95 billion and HK$142 billion in what could be the priciest plot ever placed on the market through government tender. The 632,923-square-foot land plot is part of the the region's fiscal 2018-2019 land sale program.

Raising money

* Starwood Capital Group topped its US$6 billion target for its latest global opportunistic real estate fund. The private-equity giant raised US$7.6 billion, making Starwood Global Opportunity Fund XI one of the largest real estate funding closes worldwide in 2018.

* Roughly US$9.05 billion has been committed for Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners III. Proceeds from Brookfield Asset Management Inc.'s third global property fund will be used for large, complex distressed turnarounds or recapitalizations and mid-cap real estate deals.

* After a controversial run at Uber Technologies Inc., former CEO Travis Kalanick is planning to venture into real estate, e-commerce and emerging innovation in China and India through a new fund called 10100.

Public route

* In the Philippines, two real estate companies are planning to go the public route. Condominium developer Torre Lorenzo Development Corp. is considering an IPO, which could be launched between 2020 and 2023, while construction and development company D.M. Wenceslao and Associates Inc. is targeting to net about 14.45 billion pesos from its expected June debut on the local bourse.

* Shanghai-based GreenTree Hospitality Group Ltd. is looking to raise US$200.0 million from its IPO on the NYSE. The hotel operator has a portfolio of 2,289 economy to mid-scale hotels in China, with 306 more in the pipeline.

* Oberoi Realty Ltd. Chairman and Managing Director Vikas Oberoi said the Mumbai-based developer is planning to set up a real estate investment trust. The REIT will hold three malls and two office buildings.

Property gains

* Hongkong Land Holdings Ltd.'s underlying profit attributable to shareholders for 2017 rose 14.4% year over year to US$969.7 million from US$847.8 million.

* Wharf Real Estate Investment Co. Ltd., in its first earnings report since it was spun off from Wharf (Holdings) Ltd. and listed in Hong Kong in November 2017, saw attributable profit to shareholders increase 73.5% on an annual basis to roughly HK$17.22 billion from about HK$9.92 billion.

Featured this week on S&P Global Market Intelligence

Long road ahead for enactment of China property taxes

Rollen Catorce contributed to this report.

As of March 8, US$1 was equivalent to 52.13 Philippine pesos.