Knowledge Hub

A keen understanding of the nature of real estate and the legal and regulatory issues related to this asset class is critical to working out the basic features of any real estate deal. The Rajah & Tann Asia’s “Guide to the Real Estate Industry in Asia” gives you a brief overview of certain key insights to the real estate industry in the ten jurisdictions across Rajah & Tann Asia’s geographical footprint, namely, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Topics covered in the Guide include the legal framework, types of real estate, ownership and tenure, taxes as well as important issues that an investor of real estate in the region should take note of.

In its second edition, we hope that this Guide will be a useful aid to investors who are navigating or looking to navigate this part of the world for their real estate investments.

A key pillar of our strength is our Rajah & Tann Asia network with offices in these ten jurisdictions, as well as dedicated desks focusing on Japan and South Asia. With the most extensive legal network in Asia, our lawyers have a tight grasp of the local culture, business practices, and language not just within their own home countries, but in the other markets in which they frequently conduct cross-border deals as well. Our depth of transactional and regulatory experience allows us to advise clients strategically and creatively, from structuring to eventual execution and implementation of the transaction.

This gives us an unparalleled edge over our competitors in presenting and pursuing solutions that are both practical and cost-effective. It provides our clients with the "home advantage" in any corporate real estate matters.

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

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Using data to do more with less

Source: Yardi white paper

 

As investors sharpen their focus on sustainability, how do real estate companies respond? Yardi’s regional director Bernie Devine takes stock.

As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that we are now in the decade of decarbonisation, pressure is mounting for lagging economies and companies to step up, and for leaders to make even larger strides towards net zero emissions.

Seventy per cent of the world’s economies, representing two thirds of global carbon emissions, have made strong commitments to carbon neutrality, says the UN, and a third of the world’s assets are moving towards net zero by 2050 through the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance.

Meanwhile, the Climate Bonds Initiative has tracked US$1.2 trillion of green bonds, and GRESB has recorded a 22 per cent increase in real estate companies disclosing their environmental, social and governance (ESG) achievements in just one year.

Despite the signals sounding loud and clear, sustainability is “still stuck off to the side of business process and reporting, rather than front and centre,” observes Yardi’s regional director, Bernie Devine.

Devine sees a similar scenario playing out across the Asia Pacific.

“The investment manager receives a query about sustainability and funnels it off to the ESG team to answer. This immediately tells me two things. Firstly, that the investment manager doesn’t know the answer; and secondly that the sustainability team is not central to the investment management process.”

Yardi’s latest whitepaper, Using data to do more with less, outlines five steps for real estate companies to take on the road to sustainability. It includes insights from Goodman Group’s chief financial officer, Nick Vrondas, and co-founder of Seoul-based Reimagining Cities, Chunga Cha.

While the report suggests strategies that real estate companies can adopt to capture the right data for better decision making, Devine warns that many business systems need an entire rethink.

“Spreadsheets won’t solve the sustainability challenge,” he says, noting that 58 per cent of real estate companies across the region remain reliant on Microsoft Excel to manage leasing, sales and property management information.

Much like security-by-design is embedded into software, business processes must be redesigned with sustainability at the core, Devine suggests.

“The real estate sector understands it must put the customer at the centre of its mission. To that I would add, if your objective is customer satisfaction, sustainability is central. The goal must be sustainable customer relationships through sustainable outcomes.”

Yardi helps real estate companies to complete sustainability assessments, manage ESG data and advance ESG performance. Download Yardi’s latest white paper: Using data to do more with less.

 

This article was first published in Property Council of Australia.

 

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Overview

Asia Pacific equities declined by close to 5% in July to surrender all its gains this year, weighed down by the Chinese government’s regulatory crackdown on the education, internet and property sectors. The tech heavy total return index, as tracked by MSCI, fell to its lowest since November last year.  While property related counters were not spared, it fared relatively better as the region’s REITs, with a more diverse geographical base, supported real estate indices. Risks were also firmly on the downside as the rapid rise in infections intensified in the region, clouding the prospects of an economic recovery. The Fed’s decision to maintain interest rates at near zero was largely priced in but the lack of any clear conviction to taper its bond purchases propped up markets, indicating that a monthly pace of US$120 billion will be maintained until substantial further progress had been made on employment and inflation.

Listed Real Estate

The wider GPR/APREA Listed Real Estate tumbled in July, as double-digit declines notched by regional heavyweight, China, proved too much of a drag. Hong Kong stocks were not spared. Support from the region’s other major markets of Australia and Japan were scant this time round as the resurgence of infections in the region hit sentiment.

India’s stocks, however, bucked the regional trend to rise by over 8%. A steady dip in Covid-19 cases rising vaccination rates and relaxation of curbs boosted sentiment on Indian stocks. The pandemic, which have underscored the importance of homes amid the remote working trend, leading to a rise in the demand for apartments, as buyers hunted for upgrades. Favourable regulations, such as RERA and the Model Tenancy Act, and the lowest home loan interest rates in years as well as stamp duty reductions in certain states also fueled a rally for the country’s realty stocks.

REITs

Asia Pacific REITs rose in July, with the GPR/APREA Composite REIT Index building on its rally to record a ninth consecutive monthly rise; the benchmark rose above its January peak last year for the second month running. As expected, the resurgence in infections has boosted the Industrial sector to register another strong month while Retail made up the negative end of the spectrum. Regionally, industrial and logistics REITs are outperformers as investors continue to pursue a flight-to-safety trend.

Across markets, gains were registered by most of the regional heavyweights, with Singapore leading the pack. Rapidly increasing vaccinations rates on the island have provided visibility to the government’s plans to gradually open its economy. However, Australian REITs declined as the renewed lockdown in several cities snapped a four-month winning streak for the country.

Meanwhile, Filinvest REIT Corp is set to become the third REIT to list in the Philippines, having set the final subscription price for its IPO at PHP7.00 per share. The stock is slated to debut on the Philippine Stock Exchange by mid-August. The region continues to boast an impressive pipeline of potential REIT listings, with 8-10 expected for the rest of the year.

Outlook

As base effects wane, rising caseloads across several countries in the Asia Pacific have dimmed the outlook for the regional economy. However, REITs have continued to remain resilient, backstopped by the Industrial sector as well as markets that have progressively clocked higher vaccination rates which will make the easing of restrictions more tenable. With long-dated treasury yields at their lowest since February, markets are now more inclined to believe that the specter of surging inflation will be less likely for now. The state of play has clearly shifted to policy risks in China as well as the threat from the fast-moving Delta variant. With central banks and the Fed likely to stick with its easy monetary policies due to a choppy recovery, there will invariably be sustained interest in dividend-rich stocks. As long as the pandemic continues to linger, investors will also continue to seek out the structural plays of the industrial and logistics sectors.

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• The total strata office transaction volume climbed steadily to 162 units in the first half of 2021, up from 134 in H2 2020 and 79 in H1 2020. Cautious optimism on Singapore’s growth outlook, as well as investor interest in possible strata office buildings collective sales and from owner-occupiers, boosted sales volume.
• While the number of strata offices sold in H1 2021 jumped by a noteworthy 20.9% on a half-yearly basis, total transaction values increased 106.6% in the same period to S$691.5 million (excluding the collective sale of Maxwell House). This surpassed all previous half-yearly transaction values that hovered below S$600.0 million since H1 2015.

To know more about the report, download it below.

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

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