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  • Mainland China’s pursuit of zero-covid continues to result in sudden and intermittent disruption to manufacturing, logistics and supply chain operations.
  • CBRE expects this environment to drive the further strengthening of just-in-case strategies as occupiers look to build up inventory to mitigate potential disruption – a trend that will generate substantial new demand for industrial and logistics real estate on the mainland.
  • As industrial and logistics occupiers look to extend their footprint to emerging hubs, tier I and satellite cities of key metropolitan areas are likely to attract stronger demand.
  • Occupiers are advised to focus on securing space in modern logistics facilities in locations with good transportation links, while investors are recommended to consider constructing greenfield developments in emerging hubs.

This report was originally published in https://apacresearch.cbre.com/en/research-and-reports/Mainland-ChinaBriefFocus-on-supply-chain-resilience-set-to-boost-industrial-and-logistics-real-estat

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The Q4 2021 Knight Frank Data Centre Report continues our growing coverage of the Asia Pacific region. Market analysis includes both established data centre hubs such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Sydney, Seoul, and Tokyo; and fast growth markets including Hanoi, Bangkok, Shanghai, and Kuala Lumpur – to provide the most wide-ranging view of the region.

The momentum of Q3 carried into the fourth quarter, with several major announcements across key markets in Asia Pacific. Total supply (live, phased, and under construction) in APAC increased almost 185MW in Q4, bringing total capacity in the region to over 7,900MW. Take-up was around 120MW, moderating slightly from Q3 but in line with previous quarters. For the whole of 2021, IT capacity across APAC grew by over 1,500MW.

The gigawatt markets of Tokyo and Shanghai added significant capacity in 2021, adding between 300MW to 400MW each, to their respective markets. In Q4, AirTrunk’s TOK1 facility opened in Tokyo, with its first phase up to 60MW. STT also announced its plan for two data centres in Inzai totalling 60MW. In addition, Stack Infrastructure’s has plans for a 36MW campus, and Colt has secured land for two sites in Inzai and Northern Tokyo for 45MW.

The Chinese authorities have announced the setting up of four mega clusters of data centres in the north and west of the country. This was followed by an announcement of a further 10 national data centre clusters as part of a broader strategy to transport data from eastern regions of China to western regions for storage and calculation. On the back of government plans to classify data centres as infrastructure assets for easier access to funding, India also saw several major new investments into data centre platforms, including Hiranani-Yotta and Kotak-Sify.

In Southeast Asia, Singapore lifted its hold on new data centre builds after a two-year moratorium. Under a new pilot program, up to 60MW of capacity will be made available in 2022, to developments of between 10 to 30MW each. As part of the consideration, applicants for new data centre facilities will need to commit to achieving a PUE of below 1.3 and obtain Singapore’s Green Mark for Data Centres-Platinum certification – in addition to adding strategic value for Singapore. We expect this pathfinder approach to serve as a model to other countries looking to find the right balance between their digitalization and sustainability goals.

Growing interest is also seen in emerging APAC markets like Seoul, Osaka, Ho Chi Minh, and Bangkok.

This article was originally published in https://www.knightfrank.com/

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The emergence of a fifth wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, together with continued strict border controls, has seen investors and corporations looking to adopt new strategies to manage the new normal in commercial real estate business operations.

In our Hong Kong Market Direction 2022 report, we highlight six factors we see impacting the future direction of the commercial real estate market in the Year of The Tiger:

  1. ESG Is Too Important to Be Ignored
  2. Bargain Hunting for Premium Office Properties
  3. Developers to Enrich Landbanks in the Northern Metropolis
  4. Automation and Warehouses are Connecting
  5. Healthy Lifestyles to Forge New Demand for Fitness Centers
  6. Growing Needs for Quality Virtual Conferencing and Collaborative Workspaces
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What can Artificial Intelligence (AI) offer the built environment in our age of climate emergency? At the heart of Deep Reinforcement Learning is an agent and an environment. Just as we are starting to learn that our actions within our environment have consequences on an immense, planetary scale, innovative AI is learning too – and faster than us.

By using Deep Reinforcement Learning to optimise the energy efficiency of HVAC systems in the built environment, we can minimise the negative impact of our own actions without sacrificing occupant comfort. As businesses all over the world attempt to transition to Net Zero, this technology has a pivotal role to play.

But why is Deep Reinforcement Learning the best way to optimise HVAC performance?

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By Esther An

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) integration is no longer a choice today. In the global Race to Zero[1], led by UNFCCC, over 5,200 businesses, 1,040 cities and 440 investors have stepped up their ambition and joined the global alliance to catalyse climate change. Following COP26, over 90% of global GDP has committed to achieving net zero by or near mid-century.[2] According to the 17th Edition of the World Economic Forum Global Risks Report, environmental risks were perceived to be the five most critical long-term threats over the next 10 years.[3] Climate risks are investment and business risks – the damage caused by climate change is projected to result in an increase of up to 41% of global property premiums until 2040.[4] With the building and construction sector accounting for about 40% of global carbon emissions[5], the real estate sector is in a prime position to advance sustainable development.  

Integration: Strong Fundamentals for Business and Climate Resilience

City Developments Limited (CDL)’s ESG strategy stems from its corporate ethos, “Conserving as we Construct” established in 1995. Its value creation business model is anchored on four key pillars—Integration, Innovation, Investment, and Impact; guiding CDL to achieve three key deliverables: “Decarbonisation”, “Digitalisation & Innovation” and “Disclosure and Communication”. The CDL Future Value 2030 sustainability blueprint, implemented in 2017, maps out clear strategic goals and ESG targets across CDL’s business strategies and operations.

CDL’s sustainability portfolio reports directly to the Board Sustainability Committee with ESG factors effectively integrated into its business, operations and growth strategy. In 2018, the CDL Group introduced its G.E.T. strategy—focusing on Growth while adopting an ESG lens, Enhancement of assets to drive operational efficiency and Transformation to deliver long-term and sustained value.

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