ART is investing in the Westfield Sydney at a 4.69% cap rate
A Sydney shopping centre investment leads our look at real estate news from around the region today as an Australian retirement fund takes a stake in one of the city’s best known shopping centres. Also making our list is the disintegration of CK Hutchison’s deal as a Chinese state-owned giant pushes BlackRock away from a purchase which would have given it control of the Panama Canal and Blackstone has confirmed its purchase of a Tokyo warehouse property.
Scentre Sells 19.9% Stake in Westfield Sydney to Australian Retirement Trust for $580M
In separate announcements just before Christmas, Australian Retirement Trust (ART) and Scentre Group said that the superannuation fund has agreed to acquire a 19.9 percent interest in the Westfield Sydney shopping centre for A$864 million ($580 million) in Australia’s largest-ever transaction involving a single city-centre retail asset.
ART is set to complete its acquisition of the interest in the central Sydney shopping centre from ASX-listed Scentre Group in early 2026, with QIC to act as investment manager for ART’s interest while asset management is retained by Scentre Group. Read more>>
BlackRock Said Set to Walk Away From Hutchison Port Deal as China Demands Majority Stake
A BlackRock-backed $23 billion acquisition of dozens of global ports, including key assets in the Panama Canal, is at risk of collapsing after China’s state-owned shipping giant Cosco demanded a majority stake in the deal.
Three people familiar with the talks said BlackRock and Mediterranean Shipping Company were considering walking away from a deal to buy the ports from CK Hutchison if Cosco were to insist on getting a majority stake. Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison announced in March that it would sell 43 ports in 23 countries, including two on the Panama Canal, to a consortium including BlackRock and a subsidiary of MSC, the Swiss-Italian shipping group. Read more>>
Blackstone Confirms Buy of $641M Tokyo Warehouse
Blackstone announced on Christmas Day that real estate funds under its management have agreed to acquire Tokyo C-NX, a Grade A warehouse property in central Tokyo, confirming a report by Mingtiandi earlier in the week.
The statement pointed to the logistics property in Tokyo’s Koto ward having been valued at over JPY 100 billion (US$641 million), with the 151,345 square metre (1.6 million square foot), 5-storey warehouse along Tokyo Bay positioned to meet shipping demand in the capital. Read more>>
Jinmao Sells Ritz-Carlton Sanya Resort to Pre-REIT Fund for $322M
China Jinmao Holdings said on 23 December that it has agreed to sell the Ritz-Carlton Sanya Yalong Bay resort to a fund under its management for RMB 2.26 billion ($322 million).
The announcement comes just a few weeks after the China Securities Regulatory Commission, which regulates the country’s financial markets, announced a draft of a pilot programme aimed at including commercial real estate, including office buildings, malls and hotels in China’s domestic REIT regime. Read more>>
China’s Powerlong to Sell Hangzhou Mall, Hotel to Sunshine Insurance for $349M
Powerlong Real Estate announced to the Hong Kong stock exchange on 23 December that it has agreed to sell a Hangzhou hotel and attached shopping centre to Sunshine Insurance for RMB 2.45 billion ($349 million).
The transaction involves elements of the Hangzhou Baolong City complex in the Zhejiang provincial capital’s Binjiang district, with the shopping mall spanning 137,000 square metres attached to a 175 room hotel and a 199-metre supertall office tower, which was not included in the transaction. Read more>>
Japan’s CREAL Sells Tsuki Tokyo Hotel to Foreign Investor
Japanese investment manager CREAL said this week that it has sold the Tsuki Tokyo hotel to an overseas investor, in its second deal this week involving a hospitality asset in the country’s capital.
The company did not provide details regarding its sale of the hotel near Tokyo’s Tsukiji stadium development project, with CREAL having notified the stock exchange on Tuesday that it has sold Minn Asakusa Kuramae North, a five-storey hotel in the Asakusa area. Read more>>
Australia’s Scape Buys Sydney Student Housing Project for $33M
Scape has picked up a permit-ready student accommodation site in Sydney’s inner south from EG Funds for A$49.5 million ($33 million).
The 2017 square metre State Significant Development zoned Redfern holding comprising 1-5 and 6-8 Woodburn Street and 175-177 Cleveland, set it back $49.5 million. EG Funds had acquired the property in two separate transactions in 2020 and 2021 totalling A$36.6 million. Read more>>
China Vanke Faces Fresh $526M Challenge from 28 December Notes
China Vanke Co., which just days ago got a reprieve on a local bond, is back in a familiar situation, as investors in another note finish voting on the distressed developer’s bid to delay payment amid its struggle with a mountain of debt due in coming months.
Holders of its RMB 3.7 billion ($526 million) bond have until 3 pm Thursday to choose from six proposals that all seek to push back payments in some form. In the absence of any such extension, the cash-strapped developer would have to pay the note when it falls due Dec. 28 or within a five working day grace period, otherwise risk default. Read more>>
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