* China Vanke Co. Ltd. terminated its 45.61 billion Chinese yuan deal to acquire the entire equity interest of Shenzhen Metro Group Co. Ltd.'s unit, Shenzhen Metro Qianhai International Development Co. Ltd., according to a filing. The company decided to end the potential acquisition due to certain major shareholders' varying opinions on the deal.
The South China Morning Post reported that China Vanke's termination of the Shenzhen Metro deal comes after Xia Haijun, China Evergrande Group vice chairman and president, said in a live broadcast interview on Chinese state-owned CCTV that the company does not intend to become a controlling shareholder of China Vanke.
* Link Real Estate Investment Trust agreed to sell five shopping centers in Hong Kong for an aggregate price of HK$3.64 billion, with the sale expected to close Feb. 14, 2017. The company will channel the sale proceeds toward general working-capital purposes, including debt repayment and unit repurchases.
Australia
* Villa World Ltd. believes that the New South Wales' government's move to abolish stamp duties for residential properties might resolve the housing affordability problem in Sydney's central business district, The Australian Financial Review reported, citing Villa World Managing Director Craig Treasure.
* Starwood Hotels, which recently merged with Marriott International Inc., plans to expand its hotel portfolio in Sydney by acquiring beachfront sites for hotel buildings in Manly beach, the AFR reported. AccorHotels, which has three hotels in the area, also told the publication that there was a possibility of them opening another hotel there because of the firm demand for new hotels in Manly.
* Competition has intensified for the claim to the highest building in Adelaide, as the South Australian government approved Eklipse? Capital's proposed development of the 40-floor Realm Adelaide residential project, the AFR reported. The project is expected to compete with a 36-level mixed-use development on Frome St. for the position of the city's tallest tower.
Hong Kong
* The Lands Department received 21 bids for a sale-by-tender of the Kai Tak Area 1L Site 3 residential land plot in Kai Tak that could fetch between HK$2.98 billion and HK$4.38 billion, or HK$7,500 to HK$11,000 per square feet, respectively, the SCMP reported.
Japan
* Invesco Office J-REIT Inc. completed the ¥10.10 billion sale of a trust beneficiary interest in the Harumi Island Triton Square Office Tower Z property on Dec. 16, according to a filing.
Singapore
* Fitch Ratings affirmed its BBB+ long-term foreign-currency issuer default and senior unsecured ratings for Global Logistic Properties Ltd. with a stable outlook. The rating agency expects the company to continue benefiting from its large-scale global portfolio spread over the U.S., China, Japan and Brazil.
* Moody's downgraded its outlook for Mapletree Logistics Trust to negative from stable, while affirming its Baa1 and Baa3 ratings for the company's issuer and subordinated perpetual securities ratings, respectively. The outlook downgrade is in line with the rating agency's expectations of a weaker credit profile for the company after its A$152.1 million acquisition of four properties in Australia, Rachel Chua, a Moody's analyst, said in a note, with the purchase to mostly be funded by debt.
Elsewhere in Southeast Asia
* DoubleDragon Properties Corp. plans to purchase 24 sites in 2017 for the development of CityMall shopping centers across the Philippines, The Manila Times reported. The company has a target of operating 100 CityMalls by 2020.
* Malaysian fund Kumpulan Wang Persaraan acquired Union Investment Real Estate's 601,796-square-foot Menara AIA Cap Square building in Kuala Lumpur, IPE Real Estate reported.
Other real estate news
* CapitaLand Ltd.'s serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Ltd., made its first investment in Ireland with the purchase of the 136-unit Temple Bar Hotel in Dublin for €55.1 million.
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.
Celestyn Wong contributed to this report.