The week in real estate: hostile takeovers, robot chefs, and shiny awards
The week in real estate: hostile takeovers, robot chefs, and shiny awards
A round-up of Asia’s biggest property news from the past 7 days
Who’s the hostile takeover king now known as China’s fourth-richest man?
How much did Chinese interest in Malaysian homes increase over the past year?
Why are sales in Donald Trump’s properties waning? Is there a reason besides the elections?
Read on to find out…
New research
Hurun’s Richest People in China report
Hurun’s annual richest-of list in China is back for its 2016 edition. Dalian Wanda’s Wang Jianlin is still the wealthiest person in the country, trouncing Alibaba’s Jack Ma. Tencent’s founder and a ‘hostile takeover king’ are in third and fourth places, respectively.
This year’s list of wealthiest Chinese people, defined as those with a minimum net worth of CNY2 billion (USD297 million), has grown by 179 individuals.
Details here.
Country news
Cambodia
A leading analyst spoke at length with The Phnom Penh Post about the negative outlook of Cambodia’s property market. Simon Griffiths of CBRE Cambodia insisted that there is still room for growth in the country’s property sector, although the growth is occurring at a slower pace than expected.
The seeming glut of condominiums must be taken into greater context then, factoring in gains in the sectors of retail, office space, industrial space, and tourism, among others.
“You cannot just launch a condo and expect to succeed. It is a more competitive market place and that is good for consumers,” Griffiths said.
China
China’s tightening talks, as reported by Bloomberg, will likely target overheated metropolitan cities, where “genuine” demand by prospective owner-occupiers exists, as opposed to low-tier cities where such demand is lumpy.
“In contrast to past cycles, demand in these metro cities could take a break but not evaporate,” Oscar Choi, head of Asia-Pacific property at Citi Research, told Barron’s.
Indonesia
The second annual Indonesia Property Awards were announced at a packed ceremony Thursday at the Fairmont Jakarta.
Top nominee Intiland Development won six awards, plus a few Highly Commended honours, and was ultimately named 2016’s Best Developer.
In other news, the trio of islands named Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air hosted nearly 450,000 guests at regulated accommodations last year, according to a report released this week by hospitality consultancy C9 Hotelworks. Here’s the reason why.
Japan
One of the five Japan Railways firms running the world-famous bullet trains is scoping out markets in Southeast Asia for its first real estate investment in the region.
Details here.
Malaysia
In news that would uplift Malaysian real estate influencers, Chinese buyer enquiries for properties in the country soared 550 percent in the year to August 2016, Juwai.com reported.
All the details here.
Monaco
Grace Kelly’s former domain is now the playground of Russian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern home buyers. Overall, the affluent populace in the principality is growing: a 62 percent increase in the population of people with net assets of more than USD30 million over the last 10 years.
Details here.
Myanmar
With the right infrastructure projects, and a little help from the World Bank, property growth could radiate from its present concentration in downtown Yangon and onto the city’s outskirts, real estate experts told the Myanmar Times.
Details here.
Singapore
Tanjong Pagar Centre, Singapore’s tallest building, is nearing completion, said property developer GuocoLand on Monday.
Despite a highly competitive leasing market, Guoco Tower has secured 80 percent commitment from commercial tenants, up from just 10 percent at the start of the year.
Want to know more? Click here.
Thailand
The Eleventh, the Bjarke Ingels-designed luxury towers that are literally taking a twisted turn above New York City’s High Line park, is bringing a Bangkok-based hospitality chain stateside. The hotel will offer 137 rooms, with options of condominium units above. Details here.
Meanwhile, one of Singapore’s top real estate companies is acquiring a 40 percent stake in one of Thailand’s biggest industrial property firms.
UK
The UK property market is showing signs of recovery after the country’s decision to leave the European Union, the impact of which may have been overblown, an analyst with Knight Frank said.
The number of buyers registering their interest in prime homes in the UK grew “consistently higher” in July and August than in 2015, the real estate consultancy reported. Overseas home buyers have been drawn to the plunge in property prices caused by the post-Brexit weakening of the sterling, reported The Guardian.
US
Realtor.com reported a crash in H1 sales volume of Donald Trump’s luxury property holdings in the US, suggesting a flux in the interests of buyers as well as voters.
Trends
UK startup Moley Robotics is seeking investments for an invention that could dramatically make cooking a piece of cake: a self-contained kitchen with two robotic limbs that can prepare meals, well, by their own hands.
Its creators hope to install this futuristic kitchen in new-build homes or as an upgrade to existing properties by 2018, reported TechCrunch.
Find out more about it here. Welcome to the future!
Read next: How Davao became hot property in the Philippines
Source: Property Report