* Richard Longes, Investa Office Fund's independent chairman, told The Australian that other groups can still rival Blackstone Group LP's A$3.14 billion takeover proposal even as the private equity giant conducts a four-week due diligence on the listed Australian fund. Longes said Investa, which owns a A$4 billion portfolio, is currently working with the U.S.-based firm to finalize the submitted board-recommended offer.
It was also revealed that the office fund received an unsolicited lower proposal from Blackstone in April after being targeted by Cromwell Property Group in 2017.
* Shareholders of Sunac China Holdings Ltd. approved the diversified developer's plan to spend 9.5 billion yuan for the purchase of an approximately 3.91% stake in Dalian Wanda Group Co. Ltd.'s Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co. Ltd. subsidiary.
Sunac China was one of the investors who entered agreements to buy an estimated 14% stake in the Dalian Wanda subsidiary as part of a roughly US$5.38 billion transaction.
* Savills Investment Management is planning to launch renminbi and pan-Asia funds in 2018 to achieve its goal of having US$5 billion of assets under management in Asia within the next few years.
Savills CEO Justin O'Connor said the real estate investment company will launch and market the renminbi fund in China to capitalize on the growing popularity of real estate equity products in the country, while the pan-Asia fund will target at least US$1 billion of assets under management and focus on developed market and offices.
Hong Kong and China
* Hong Kong-listed developer Hang Lung Properties Ltd. secured the rights to a state-owned site in Hangzhou, China, after its Passion Success Ltd. subsidiary placed the winning 10.73 billion-yuan bid. The Xiacheng district site spans an estimated 44,827 square meters and has a maximum gross floor area of nearly 194,100.91 square meters.
* Respective subsidiaries of Yida China Holdings Ltd. and Longfor Properties Co. Ltd. signed a 2.60 billion-yuan deal to sell and buy a roughly 246,890-square-meter mixed-use residential development project within the Dalian Hi-Tech Park in Dalian City, China.
* HKICIM Group, a subsidiary of HNA Group Co. Ltd., is seeking HK$4 billion to HK$5 billion of refinancing and construction loans through DBS to develop its land in Kai Tak, Hong Kong, Apple Daily reported. The group is looking for five to six banks to underwrite the loan, and the interest rate will be set at 3% above the Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate.
* Beijing has stopped registering split ownership for properties to halt speculations in partition flats. The Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development also said the authority will no longer indicate the number of apartments provided in new properties, and any renewal projects will have to provide the same number of apartments as the original establishment.
Australia
* Dexus is planning to incorporate a A$200 million creative precinct in its Lakes Business Park South development in Sydney's Botany suburb, The Australian Financial Review reported. The planned Botany Quarter project near Sydney Airport will have three buildings providing 24,300 square meters of space for more than 200 strata office, retail, industrial and storage units.
* A Boyuan Holdings Ltd.-led consortium that also involves Scentre Group and logistics company LOGOS is planning to develop a 344-hectare master planned mixed-use development in Sydney's Badgerys Creek suburb. The proposed 200,000-square-meter precinct will include 9,000 new homes, a university, hotels, public spaces, health and retail facilities, and a logistics estate.
Philippines
* Listed property developer Cebu Landmasters Inc. is teaming up with the Lyceum of the Philippines University for the development of a 17-hectare mixed-use university town in Davao city. Works on the project that will feature residential, commercial, office, hotel and convention components, will commence in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to a filing.
* Colliers Philippines is urging companies to deliver more hotels, convention halls, office towers, retail strips, and industrial spaces in Pampanga as more infrastructure projects are planned to transform the province, BusinessWorld (Manila) reported.
The real estate consultancy is calling for more diversity in the projects being built in the area, where Filipino developers, such as SM Prime Holdings Inc., Ayala Land Inc. and Megaworld Corp., have been working on separate projects to expand their footprints.
Japan
* Far East Orchard Ltd.'s Far East Hospitality Holdings Pte. Ltd. subsidiary is forming a joint venture with Boo Han Holdings Pte. Ltd. for the planned acquisition of a hotel project in Ariake, Tokyo, from Shimizu Corp. The joint venture agreed to pay nearly ¥8.20 billion for the development, which will sit on a roughly 2,542-square-meter site.
* Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. Ltd. has completed the construction of the Onarimon Tower, a 22-story office building in the Shiba Park area of Tokyo's Minato-ku, Jutaku-Shimpo-Sha reported.
* Tokyu Corp. will open the 35-story Shibuya Stream mixed-use building in the capital's Shibuya-ku area on Sept. 13, Tokyo's The Nikkei reported. The 180-meter-tall building will include the company's 177-room hotel franchise and office floors entirely leased to Google Japan Inc.
* The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's urban planning council has approved a high-rise project in Shinjuku-ku, Jutaku-Shimpo-Sha reported. The development is expected to be the tallest building in the area.
Myanmar
* South Korea's Korea Land & Housing Corp., Alliance Star Group of Companies and Shwe Taung Co. will develop three mega-city projects in Yangon under separate partnership agreements with Myanmar's Ministry of Construction, Singapore's DealStreetAsia reported.
The total investments needed for the development of the three projects are expected to amount to US$2.29 billion, according to the government agency.
Rollen Catorce, Emily Lai and Jaekwon Lim contributed to this report.
As of May 28, US$1 was equivalent to 6.40 yuan and ¥109.36.
