* A joint venture between QIC Global Real Estate, MAB Corp. and Gibson Property Corp. is expected to start work in 2019 on the A$40 million initial stage of the approximately A$5 billion Merrifield City Centre in Melbourne, touted to be Victoria, Australia's biggest mixed-use master-planned community, The Australian reported.
According to the report, the first stage will see 7,000 square meters of retail space that will include a new Coles supermarket and 20 specialty stores.
* Mantle Group Managing Director Godfrey Mantle confirmed his plan to list his pubs and restaurants portfolio via a mid-2019 IPO, The Australian Financial Review reported. Mantle said the company is looking to expand its footprint in Sydney after debuting in the market earlier in 2018 with the Squire's Landing venue at Circular Quay, the report added.
Australia
* China's Forise Holdings tapped Canford Property Group Ltd. to search for a joint venture partner or an off-market buyer open to altering development plans for Spirit, a A$1.2 billion, 3,494-square-meter high-rise residential development at 3 Trickett St. on the Gold Coast.
Hong Kong and China
* Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. is hoping to amass HK$6.3 billion of sales in the fourth quarter from its 12 major shopping malls, The (Hong Kong) Standard reported.
* Swire Pacific Ltd. is selling its full stake in Swire Duro (Holdings) Ltd. and a 40% interest in Akzo Nobel Swire Paints Ltd. for HK$2.7 billion to Dutch company Akzo Nobel NV.
* Sino Land Co. Ltd. sold all 488 first-batch units at Grand Central in Kwun Tong, Hong Kong, with two buyers both snapping up two four-bedroom units at almost HK$40 million, The Standard reported.
Japan
* Axa Investment Managers - Real Assets, in partnership with Hong Kong-based Alyssa Advisors, purchased an office development project in Roppongi, Tokyo. Regus Group agreed to pre-let the whole building, starting on completion of the project, anticipated in early 2021.
India
* A joint venture between Singapore-based privatized logistics provider GLP Pte. Ltd. and Everstone Group is aiming to inject about US$500 million in strategies and technologies to improve the logistics ecosystem in India.
* A report by CBRE named India as the leader in flexible office space growth in the Asia-Pacific region, as co-working spaces across seven key cities in the country rose to 15 million square feet, The Economic Times of India reported.
* IREO Management Pvt. Ltd. faces mounting pressure from activist investors who are hoping to recover US$1.6 billion worth of investments from the embattled Indian real estate developer. In June, Axon Capital LP and British investor and hedge fund manager Christopher Hohn's Children's Investment Fund Foundation accused the company of defrauding its foreign investors in potentially one of the largest private equity scams ever.
Malaysia
* Malaysia's largely anti-China narrative under its new prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is dampening its property appeal to foreign investors, with Forest City, a property development planned to house 700,000 people, among its casualties, the Financial Times reported.
A report by Chinese website Juwai.com revealed that property spending by Chinese nationals across Malaysia tripled in 2017 to hit US$2.3 billion, the publication noted. However, average sales prices have fallen 4% since their peak in July, the report added, citing Knight Frank analysis of data from the Malaysian Valuation & Property Services Department.
Abdul Rehman Maqbool contributed to this report.