GIC says sub-prime crisis beginning to hurt Asian property markets
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...347983/1/.html
GIC says sub-prime crisis beginning to hurt Asian property markets
By Timothy Ouyang, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 15 May 2008 2100 hrs
SINGAPORE: The US sub-prime crisis has begun to hurt Asian property markets, the real estate investment arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) said at the FT Asia Property Summit on Thursday.
While Wall Street starts picking up the pieces from the sub-prime crisis, GIC said the Asian property market has just started to feel the impact. The investor added that the fallout would be even greater if the US went into a full-blown recession.
Seek Ngee Huat, president of GIC Real Estate, said: "The contagion effects of the sub-prime crisis can potentially put a downward spin (on) the current cycle. While the sub-prime crisis may be seen essentially as a transatlantic problem, its ripple effects are certainly being felt here in Asia."
GIC, however, remained upbeat, saying that the sub-prime meltdown presents not just threats but also opportunities.
It noted that Asia will continue to be the growth region of the future, attracting foreign investors in search of higher returns and diversification, as emerging cities in China and India move aggressively to become first-tier cities in the world in 10 to 20 years.
Mr Seek said: "It therefore may make sense to take some short-term risk in order to position for the long term, for many of these institutional investors. In fact, if one takes a long view, the pricing in emerging markets, which is starting from a low base, should have tremendous upside."
GIC Real Estate has some 300 investments spread across 30 countries around the world. - CNA/ac
Re: GIC says sub-prime crisis beginning to hurt Asian property markets
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...79455,00.html?
Published May 16, 2008
Interest in Asian property seen growing
GIC Real Estate says weaker market favours those taking strategic position
By EMILYN YAP
(SINGAPORE) The sub-prime crisis may have affected Asian property markets, but interest in the sector is likely to grow. The Government of Singapore Investment Corp's (GIC) real estate arm is also confident about investment opportunities going forward.
'There is plenty to go around - we will all have fun competing,' said president of GIC Real Estate Seek Ngee Huat at a property conference yesterday.
Going by the pace at which real estate projects are emerging in Asian cities, Dr Seek believed that there would be a continuous supply to meet different risk-return appetites.
Dr Seek recognised that the sub-prime crisis has weakened Asian markets, particularly Japan and Australia. 'The contagion effects of the sub-prime crisis . . . can potentially accelerate the downward spin of the current cycle,' he said.
Nevertheless, the outlook for the property market was not entirely bleak. 'Weak markets favour those who have capacity to take a strategic position,' Dr Seek said. 'The sub-prime meltdown presents threats but there are also opportunities.'
And many around the world are likely to see investment opportunities in Asian property markets as well. 'Massive build-up of investment funds in the world, coupled with the attraction of Asia as a growth region of the future, will ensure continuous global interest in Asian real estate,' said Dr Seek. He pointed out that this will inevitably lead to greater competition.
Dr Seek said that GIC Real Estate had focused mainly on developed markets in its first 10 years, and only started investing in Asia in the 1990s. Even then, it was 'way ahead' of other institutional investors.
GIC Real Estate ranks among the world's top 10 real estate investment firms, according to its website. The unit has over 200 investments across more than 30 countries, culminating in a multi-billion US dollar portfolio.
GIC Real Estate had in March, through its affiliate Reco Hotels JV Private Ltd, entered into a joint venture with Host Hotels & Resorts Inc to explore investment opportunities in Asia and Australia. The real estate unit also bought the Westin Tokyo hotel for about 80 billion yen (S$1.05 billion) in February.
Re: GIC says sub-prime crisis beginning to hurt Asian property markets
http://www.straitstimes.com/Money/St...ry_237901.html
May 16, 2008
US sub-prime crisis hurting Asian property: GIC
By Fiona Chan
THE sub-prime crisis in the United States is starting to weaken Asian property markets, said the real estate arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) yesterday.
GIC Real Estate president Seek Ngee Huat told a regional property conference that the impact of the crisis could hasten downtrends in the Asian property markets, according to a report by news agency Reuters.
'The contagion effects of the sub-prime crisis can potentially accelerate the downward spin of the property cycle,' he said in a keynote speech at the Financial Times Asia Property Summit.
'Some market weakening is being sensed in Asia, particularly in Japan and in Australia.'
In Australia, house prices are growing more slowly and demand for mortgages fell 6.1 per cent in March from February, according to the Reuters report.
It added that in Japan, the stock of unsold apartments is rising, while housing starts fell 15.6 per cent in March from a year ago.
Housing starts - the number of new private homes under construction - are used as an indicator of the state of an economy.
On the bright side, the sub-prime carnage presents opportunities for well-positioned players, Dr Seek said.
But he added that any interested party would face competition from other institutional investors.
'As always, weak markets favour those with the capacity to take strategic positions, and so the sub-prime meltdown presents threats as well as opportunities,' he was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Morgan Stanley has estimated that GIC manages more than US$330 billion (S$456.8 billion) of assets. This makes it the world's third-largest sovereign wealth fund, behind the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Norway's Government Pension Fund.
GIC Real Estate is also one of the top 10 property investors in the world, with more than 200 investments across more than 30 countries.
Its multibillion-dollar portfolio includes the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney and the Westin Paris in France, among other buildings.
In his speech, Dr Seek said that GIC began by investing in developed markets. It only started to focus on emerging markets in Asia in the mid-1990s.
Re: GIC says sub-prime crisis beginning to hurt Asian property markets
the sky is falling
run and hide
Re: GIC says sub-prime crisis beginning to hurt Asian property markets
Quote:
Originally Posted by chicken little
the sky is falling
run and hide
No need to run.
The Europeans are coming in to buy Asian properties.
Join them.
