* A state-owned consortium comprising Shanghai Land Group Co. Ltd., Shanghai Shentong Metro Group Co. Ltd. and Pudong Railway secured the rights over 19 land parcels in the Pudong district of Shanghai after placing a 13.8 billion-yuan winning bid, the South China Morning Post reported.
According to the report, the consortium earmarked the land plots, which have a combined area of 254,300 square meters and a yield capacity of 1.37 million square meters, for a plan to develop a new financial district in Shanghai.
* An indirect subsidiary of Yuexiu Property Co. Ltd. is exercising an option to buy a 92% stake in the developer of a roughly 147,240-square-meter site in Wuhan, China, under an approximately 3.32 billion-yuan agreement.
Hong Kong and China
* New City Development Group Ltd. signed a memorandum of cooperation with Zhongfang United Investment Group Health Industry Investment Co. Ltd. for its possible acquisition of the latter's 70% stake in Guangdong Xizhou Education Co. Ltd. for a yet-to-be-determined consideration. A deal to formalize the transaction is expected to be signed March 27, according to a filing.
* Guangzhou Pearl River Industrial Development Co. Ltd.'s real estate arm is planning to contribute up to 430 million yuan for the joint development of a site in Zhongshan, China, Reuters reported.
* In January, Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd.'s contracted sales grew year on year by about 3.8% to nearly 2.97 billion yuan, reflecting contracted gross floor area of 174,435 square meters and average selling price of 17,001 yuan per square meter.
Australia
* An unidentified preferred third party was given permission to commence a 21-day exclusive due diligence period on Asia Pacific Data Centre's three-asset portfolio, following the signing of a A$280 million deal at a 5.0% initial yield. The agreement for the portfolio sale to the unnamed investor came after NEXTDC Ltd. turned down an option to purchase the data centers that it is also leasing.
* Wee Hur Holdings Ltd. is pushing ahead with its A$700 million plan to develop student accommodations offering a total of 3,250 beds across Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane, The Australian reported. The Singapore-based investment holding company also intends to buy sites in Perth and Sydney.
* Luxury brand Hermes is believed to be in negotiations to occupy multiple levels of the Trust Building at 155-159 King St. in Sydney's central business district. The Australian Financial Review reported that if pursued, the leasing deal would see Hermes join other brands such as Dior, CHANEL and Bulgari in a "luxury super block" in the city that also houses MLC Centre, which is jointly owned by GPT Group and Dexus.
* Meanwhile, Dexus has secured John Holland Group as anchor tenant for a proposed 11-story office building in its Flinders Gate Complex in Melbourne. According to The Australian, the construction house committed to lease about 8,000 square meters in the development that will feature 20,000 square meters of office space and an eight-level internal atrium.
* SM Prime Holdings Inc. said it will launch the 13,000-square-meter SM Center Imus shopping center in the Philippine province of Cavite on Feb. 16. The mall, the Filipino conglomerate's sixth in the province, will be anchored by SM home brands such as ACE Hardware, Miniso, Watsons and BDO.
* A consortium involving Oxley Holdings Ltd. was chosen as the preferred bidder to develop a 25.7-hectare mixed-use site in Yangon, Myanmar, with an intended development gross floor area of 1.09 million square meters. The Yangon Central Railways Station Area Comprehensive Development Project will include a new central transportation hub, according to a release.
* Fitch Ratings downgraded PT Lippo Karawaci Tbk's long-term issuer default rating to B+ from BB-, while also affirming the Indonesian developer's national long-term rating at A+(idn). Fitch's outlook for the company's ratings is stable.
* Listed developer Low Keng Huat (Singapore) Ltd. agreed to buy the 61-unit Cairnhill Mansion freehold development in Singapore's prime district 9 for S$362.0 million. The 18-story property occupying land with an area of approximately 43,103 square feet was put up for a collective sale in October 2017 with a price tag of the same amount.
* Data released by Singapore's Urban Redevelopment Authority showed a 37% year-over-year jump in home sales in January to 522 housing units from 382 houses, Bloomberg Markets reported. According to the news agency, the increase in sales is an indication that the city-state's housing sector is staging a recovery from a four-year slump.
Japan
* GLP J-REIT is looking to net approximately ¥59.55 billion from its public offering of 544,484 new investment units priced at ¥109,372 apiece. A secondary offering of 19,681 new units at the same issue price is also planned in a bid to raise an additional roughly ¥2.15 billion.
The money raised from the offering will be used to finance the trust's proposed purchase of six properties for an estimated ¥77.06 billion total consideration.
* Nagoya City selected Mitsui Fudosan Co. Ltd. to maintain and manage the redevelopment of a portion of the Hisaya Odori Park and the TV Tower area in the Sakae area of Naka Ward, beating peer Mitsubishi Estate Co. Ltd., Tokyo's The Nikkei reported.
Other news
* Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin's Dalian Wanda Group Co. Ltd. divested a 17% stake in Spanish soccer club Atletico de Madrid to Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer's Quantum Pacific Group for an undisclosed amount, the SCMP reported. Dalian Wanda first invested in the Spanish sports team in 2015 through a US$52 million deal to buy a 20% stake.
According to the publication, the stake sale is still part of the Chinese conglomerate's ongoing efforts to reduce its debt.
Now featured on S&P Global Market Intelligence
Data Dispatch: US REITs raise $5.8B through capital offerings in January
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. Articles and links are correct as of publication time.
Cam Nones and John Chan contributed to this report.
As of Feb. 14, US$1 was equivalent to 6.34 yuan, ¥106.98 and S$1.32.