Land & Houses' financial arm plans IPO
Thailand’s top property developer Land & Houses Pcl announced that its financial arm LH Financial, is planning to sell 1.44 billon shares in an IPO next year.The company said the proceeds will be used to strengthen its financial status, as well as finance its future business expansion....
Continue Reading • 29 Dec 2010
GuocoLand looking at REIT flotations
GuocoLand may consider floating two real estate investment trusts (REITs) – one office and one retail – holding assets in China, Malaysia, Singapore and possibly Vietnam, according to The Business Times.The assets could be valued at about $6 billion to $8 billion and the REITs may be...
Continue Reading • 29 Dec 2010
Asia-Pacific markets lead in home prices recovery
Asia-Pacific markets led the patchy recovery in home prices in the third quarter with an average increase of 9.9 percent, based on the global house price index by Knight Frank.For the first time since 2008, prices in all six world regions tracked by Knight Frank saw increases in Q3. Asia-Pacific...
Continue Reading • 29 Dec 2010
FEO sells 181 units at The Tennery
Far East Organization (FEO) has announced that 181 of the 217 units released at the preview of its latest project The Tennery have been snapped up.Situated at the junction of Choa Chu Kang Road and Woodlands Road, The Tennery is made up of SOHO-style apartments located above the Junction 10...
Continue Reading • 29 Dec 2010
CapitaLand's The Beaufort records brisk sales
CapitaLand China Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand, has sold about 60 percent of the 220 apartments launched for sale at The Beaufort located in Beijing.The company launched a residential tower at The Beaufort on Christmas Day, under the second stage of marketing for the...
Continue Reading • 29 Dec 2010
Singapore collective sales market picks up
Singapore’s residential en bloc sales market has recovered this year following a hiatus in 2009. So far, there are more than 30 successful collective sales amounting to $1.6 billion.However, the size of each en bloc sale transacted this year was smaller compared to those in 2005 to...
Continue Reading • 28 Dec 2010
Housing prices in the UK continue to drop
House prices in the UK dropped for a sixth month in December, and will remain down next year due to weak housing demand and tighter lending conditions, according to Hometrack.The average cost of a residential property in the UK fell 0.4 percent in November and will drop further by 2 percent next...
Continue Reading • 28 Dec 2010
Singapore firms picking up bargain distressed properties
Singaporean firms have been buying up distressed properties, such as those in Indonesia and the United States in the aftermath of the worldwide recession. However, their prices are rising, and bargains are now fewer as the economy picks up.One reason is the US central bank’s quantitative...
Continue Reading • 28 Dec 2010
China raises Public Housing Fund mortgage rates
The central government has raised the Public Housing Fund (PHF) mortgage rates in cities where affordable housing is being developed under a pilot programme, effective December 26, according to a ccstock.cn report.Rates for loans with a duration of five years or less would be increased by 0.25...
Continue Reading • 28 Dec 2010
SGX to expand to foreign brokers
Foreign brokers that operate overseas will be covered by the Singapore Exchange (SGX), when it expands membership on the securities market.Referred to as “Remote Trading Members”, foreign brokers will follow their home rules and deal only for foreign investors. Through the remote...
Continue Reading • 28 Dec 2010
China to crackdown on shady developers
In a continued effort to curb the red hot real estate market, the central government of China has vowed to punish shady property developers, as well as ordered local officials to curb rising land prices.A statement from the Ministry of Land and Resources said that high property prices in some...
Continue Reading • 28 Dec 2010
TCT to invest in mainland shopping centres
Singapore-listed real estate investor Treasury China Trust (TCT) intends to invest over one billion yuan in at least three mainland shopping arcades to capitalise on the growing wealth of consumers in China.The company plans to acquire shopping centres in Xian in the west and in Shanghai, Qingdao...
Continue Reading • 28 Dec 2010
Singapore taking careful approach to cooling the market
The Singapore government has stepped in twice in the property market this year, taking a cautious approach to introducing further measures to curb property prices, but not crashing the market, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.“We are not taking a big bang approach, but taking...
Continue Reading • 28 Dec 2010
PMB declares 4 landmarks as national monuments
The Preservation of Monuments Board (PMB) has declared the Singapore Conference Hall along Shenton Way and three memorials in Esplanade Park – the Lim Bo Seng Memorial, the Cenotaph and the Tan Kim Seng Fountain – as national monuments.This takes the total number of national monuments...
Continue Reading • 28 Dec 2010
Two landmarks set to be restored
The City Hall and former Supreme Court buildings are set to be restored for $530 million.Construction work will start in January 2011 and is due for completion by the second half of 2014.Upon completion, the two landmarks in the Civic District will feature three more basements and will house the...
Continue Reading • 28 Dec 2010
A quiet period for stocks
Stocks seem set for another listless week, as there are no new leads or significant data in the run-up to New Year’s Day.No Christmas rally was seen last week, with the STI ending the week 9.21 points or 0.3 percent lower at 3,143.80.The FTSE ST All-Share index, which tracks 241 of the most...
Continue Reading • 27 Dec 2010
URA to launch Robertson Quay site for tender
The URA has announced that a land parcel at Robertson Quay will be released for sale within two weeks, after a developer committed to offer not less than $1.5 million for the site.It was made available for sale on April 22 through the Reserve List system. As the minimum price committed by the...
Continue Reading • 27 Dec 2010
US mortgage rates down below 5%
After increasing slightly by above 5 percent, average 30-year fixed mortgages in the US dropped below 5 percent, while the average rate for 15-year fixed mortgages fell 4.3 percent. The decline in mortgage rates may indicate a reversal of last week’s rapid rate increase, helped by the...
Continue Reading • 27 Dec 2010
Sansiri to unveil 11 new projects next year
Thai-listed real estate developer Sansiri intends to put in THB20 billion for the launch of 11 new residential projects next year.Sansiri will be focusing on building A- and B-class condominiums along the planned Mass Rapid Transit Purple Line and in prime areas in Bangkok, said Uthai...
Continue Reading • 27 Dec 2010
Roxy-Pacific acquires Everitt Building
Roxy-Pacific has signed a deal to acquire Everitt Building located at 116 Changi Road for $35.5 million, This works out to $877 psf based on its net lettable area (NLA) of around 40,468 sq ft.The 10-year-old freehold property has an existing gross floor area (GFA) of 50,892 sq ft, which reflects...
Continue Reading • 27 Dec 2010