戴德梁行:全球楼市速览(2010.02.01)

2. Ascendas – Asia's leading business space solutions provider, said it will shift its focus to the development of integrated business and IT parks as well as further expand its real estate funds to accelerate its growth in China. "Instead of providing traditional business spaces, we will offer our tenants a real work-live-play environment in the new generation business and IT parks integrated with a wide range of retail and recreational amenities," said Eric Goh, chief executive officer of Ascendas China. "We expect the strategic move to further sustain our development in the country in the long run." The Singapore-based company currently has 860,000 sq m of assets worth nearly S$1.2bn under management in 9 Chinese cities. It said earlier that it planned to own total real estate assets worth S$2.5bn in China by 2012. The firm is also seeking to strengthen its real estate funds business in the country by adding more projects into its existing China funds. It will also set up new funds that will invest further in the country's property market. Ascendas set up 2 China real estate funds with a combined size of S$1.4bn in 2007 to invest purely in industrial/business park projects and office/commercial properties. "We've been looking for some office developments, particularly located in prime areas in gateway cities like Beijing and Shanghai," Goh said. "Hopefully, we will be able to increase our fund portfolio by the end of this year." Ascendas might also cooperate with some creative business space operators though the idea is still in its infant stage. An example of creative business spaces is The Bridge 8 in Shanghai’s Luwan district, a cluster built from a group of abandoned factories and now home to creative professionals, including architects, designers and advertisers. (Shanghai Daily).

3. Shanghai’s insurance regulator will promote shipping insurance, pensions and health insurance to help propel the city into a leading global financial and shipping centre by 2020, it said. Shipping insurance, for example, is lagging in the city's maritime industry and with the introduction of these products more global firms will also be invited to set up offices in the city to help boost its growth into a global hub. Shanghai is also speeding up the implementation of an "exempt-and-tax" program for individual pensions. The program is one of Shanghai's innovations under the guidelines of the State Council, China's Cabinet, to build the city into a major financial hub by 2020. The program offers an incentive for people to buy retirement policies by cutting their tax payment in China where commercial insurance penetration is still low. The insurance industry, on the whole, performed much better in 2009. Total insurance premiums in Shanghai rose 10.8% to RMB66.5bn last year. (Shanghai Daily).

Hong Kong

1. Hong Kong is the world’s second most “globalised economy” but still underperforms others in terms of labour mobility and technology, according to a join survey by Ernst & Young and the Economist Intelligence Unit. Singapore was at the top of the survey. The first Globalisation Index, which runs from 1995 to 2013, rates economies according to five criteria – trade, capital, technology, labour and culture. (SCMP)

2. MTR Corp said yesterday it had received 14 expressions of interest from developers to build a large-scale luxury residential project above Austin Station in West Kowloon. Among the interested developers are Cheung Kong (Holdings), Sun Hung Kai Properties, Henderson Land Development, New World Development, Kowloon Development, Sino Land, USI Holdings, Hang Lung Properties, Kerry Properties, Nan Fung Development and Wheelock Properties. (SCMP)