Headlines

l  Friday: HSI -2.21%, SHCOMP -3.86%, KOSPI -0.71%, Dow -0.68%, SPX -0.62%, Nasdaq -0.94%

l  COVID-19: WHO said several vaccine candidates to enter phase 3 w/in 2-3 mths

l  GOLD: Futures traded at record while spot gold topped $1,900 for 1st time since 2011 as dollar plunged

l  US: US to ease restrictions on sale of armed drones, a shift that cld benefit allies such as Saudi Arabia

l  CN-US: US takes custody CN researcher from San Fran Consulate charged w/ hiding military backgrnd

l  CN-US: Singaporean man pleads guilty to acting as illegal agent for Chinese intelligence in the US

l  CN-GY: China & Germany agreed to speed up EU investment agreement talks

l  CN: Policy makers reiterate prop sector will not be used as short-term stimulus to shore up economy

l  CN: Foods ongoing; damage cld be sizable – watch food inflation but GDP gwth impact likely limited

l  HK: SB Connect net sold on Fri, ending 29 days of net purchase

l  HK: Hang Seng Tech Index launching today

l  HK: Link REIT (823) makes 1^st UK acqn buying Canary Wharf office for HK$3.8b. 10.9yr WALE

Finally:  What made Asia’s largest slum a success model for treating COVID-19? Dharavi, a slum in India is home to more than 1m people, & within the slum, there are as many as 650,000 people living in a 2.5km²  area (vs NYC 95,605 people for 2.5km²).  Reports credit the huge turnaround to various factors.  Most focused on Dharavi's use of widespread testing and contact tracing.  However officials have also credited this turnaround to a "combination of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), vitamin D, & zinc tablets along w/ homeopathic medicines."  While HCQ has become politicised elsewhere in the world, the ICMR guidelines recommend prophylactic use of HCQ for 3 categories:

1. All asymptomatic healthcare workers involved in containment & treatment of COVID19 + asymptomatic healthcare workers working in non-COVID hospitals/non-COVID areas of COVID hospitals/blocks;

2. Symptomatic frontline workers, such as surveillance workers deployed in containment zones + police / paramilitary personnel involved in COVID-19 related activities; &

3. Symptomatic household contacts of laboratory confirmed cases

In other words, HCQ is for anyone w/ slightest chance of contracting COVID-19.  This article in American thinker explores whether the use of HCQ be one reason why India's death rate is dramatically lower than some European countries. (American Thinker) 

More tightening voice from official media Economic Info Daily. The article cited ASP surge recently, and called for moves to stabilize home price, land price & xpctn w/ harsher tone. (Econ Info Daily)

Dongguan upgraded tightening policies:  1) expand HPR for families w/ no Hukou; 2) 3 yr re-sale restrictions for regular commodity houses. (Guandian)

CK Asset sold Chengdu Le Parc devt to Yuzhou for HK$7.8b ($1.01b). Part of consideration will be funded by a RMB2.4bn seller loan to Yuzhou; the seller loan will bear interest at LIBOR+5.5% pa.  CKA will book a HK$3.8bn a/f-tax gain on disposal. (Sina) >>> 8-phase dev w/ 7.3msqf GFA to be completed in 2020-21.

CR Land’s indirectly owned JV entered into a facility agreement for a 5yr, HK$9.44b loan w/ a syndicate of banks. (Guandian)

GLP to invest Rmb300m to build “smart logistics” industrial park in Sino-SG Tianjin Eco-City. (Biz Times)

Chinese prop tycoon Ren Zhiqiang expelled from Communist Party for “serious violations” of discipline & law. Ren, former chairman of Huayuan Prop, reportedly involved in illegal use of public funds & illegal profit-making activities through affiliates. (NY Times)

China’s Supreme Court / NDRC jointly anncd RE transactions will be guided back to the purpose of housing for living, & they will contain speculations on land & home transactions (Sina).

New home sales volume ↑ 13.7%YoY in 17 major cities last wk (↓1.4% in Tier 1, ↑13.4% in Tier 2),  but ↓ 9.4% WoW, per CREIS. (CREIS)

Beijing raised its resi rent subsidies. Families w/ below Rmb4,200 per capita income are able to apply for resi rent subsidies,  range Rmb1,000 ~ Rmb3,500 / mth. (51Fangchan)

R&F: An urban redevt project in Huangpu District, Guangzhou targets to complete demolition in 2021. GFA ~2.3m m². (Guandian)

Central China New Life anncd 1H positive profit alert, xpctd to be up at least 60%YoY, mainly due to 1) ↑ in GFA under mngt; 2) ↑ in revenue in lifestyle services & 3) gwth in value-added services revenue. (Co)

Land sales in Shanghai performed strongly in 1H20, ↑95.8% YoY to Rmb134.58b, per property service platform Tospur. (Guandian)

Greenland says main holders to sell up to 17.5% stake, making Greenland mktization while state-owned capital retain sufficient equity hldgs + still retain the state-owned attributes of Greenland. (East Money)

Ascott Residence divests 100% owned subsidiary in China. (Co)

WANDA HOTEL HALTED PENDING SUBSTANTIAL DISPOSAL ANNOUNCEMENT (BBG)

Link REIT to buy Cabot Sq Bldg in London for £371.4m ($475m) from Hines Global REIT. NLA 481,605ft². Grade A office + ground fl retail units, ancillary services & basement carpark. (Co)

Hang Lung Prop sold 2 houses (31A & 31B) at Blue Pool Rd for HK$330m each to a related party. (HKET) 

SHKP sold 106 units (as of 6pm on Jul 26) or 98% of its 108 units put up for sale at Regency Bay in Tuen Mun, fetching over HK$600m of proceeds. Transacted @ ASP HK$18,572/ft². (HKET)

Wharf REIC subsidiary Harbour Center reported HK$171m underlying profit, ↓28%YoY. IP portfl rev ↓42%, hotel rev↓72% w/ 15% avg occupancy.  HK$1bn impairment for hotels (The Murray & hotel under devt in Suzhou) + HK$524 IP reval loss (↓ 8% HoH). (Mkt Screener) Wharf REIC, as a result of a higher free float a/f the Wheelock privatization share distribution, may see an uplift in its HSI weight in the Sept 2020 review (announcement on Aug 14 & trade date on Sep 4 close).

Goldin may sell remaining plot in Kai Tak for HK$6bn to a group intro’d by CKA. Px may be 33% disc to that paid by Goldin in ’18, but may contain a buyback provision. (Apple Daily)

HK recorded 133 / 128 new cases on Sat / Sun. HK moved to plug loopholes exempting seafarers and aircrew from COVID-19 quarantine rules, effective from Wed.

Kerry (683 HK) applies for compulsory sale of an aged bldg in Sai Ying Pun. According to the press, the remaining units that are yet to be acq’d incl a ground-floor retail space which is valued at HK$6.9mn. (HKET) >>> Kerry has spent a cumulative HK$550m acquiring 82.5% ownership in this 53-yr bldg located at No.79-85 Hill Rd. The site cld potentially be redeveloped into a commercial bldg w/ 43kft² GFA.

HK Govt started land resumption for Hung Shui Kui new devt area, 12ha, to supply 1400 units. (HKET)

HK Ferry / Empire launched Seacoast Royale resi project, Tuen Mun @ effective ASP HK$13,758/ft². 1^st batch 123 units up for sale this wk. (HKET) >>> 1^st batch is 10% premium over comparable new projs.

CCL Index +0.53%WoW, Mass Index +0.73%WoW, Small & Medium Index +0.64%WoW, & Large Index ↓0.04%WoW. (Centaline) >>> CCL Index hits 36wks high, Small & Medium Index hits 43wks high.

Perennial Real Estate's privatisation offer turns unconditional. Earlier last mth, Perennial anncd that an entity called Primero Invsmt was offering S$0.95/sh in cash for all its shrs. (Biz Times)

CapitaLand 1H total PATMI xpctd to be ↓85% ~ 95%YoY. Group has interest of 28.49% in CapitaMall Trust, 29.42% in CapitaLand Commercial Trust & effective shr of revaln losses amts to S$159.9m. (Co) CapitaLand resolved all resolutions in AGM. (Co)

Ascott Residence Trust Sells Ascott Guangzhou And Citadines Didot Montparnasse Paris For Over S$190m

CDL Hospitality REIT resolved 3 resolutions in AGM. (Co)

CEO of CDL's hotel arm Millennium & Copthorne Hotels quits a/f 4mths in the position ‘to spend more time w/ his family’. (Biz Times)

CapitaLand Mall Trust FY19 distributable income S$441.6m (↑7.5%YoY), DPU 11.97c (↑4.1%YoY), NAV / unit S$0.27 (↑3.5%YoY). (Co)

Office rents flat in Q2, but vacancy ↑to 12.1%. This stems from bizs tightening their belts; leasing driven by renewals or relocations. (Biz Times)

Q2 net demand for retail space shrinks by record 93,000m², >double Q1's 43,000m² ↓& biggest reduction since URA's time series for this segment began in 2011. (Biz Times)

Singapore retail rents ↓3.5%QoQ in 2Q20, vacancy ↑to 9.6%, per URA. (Biz Times)

Q2 private home prices surprise w/ 0.3% uptick. But analysts xpct economic headwinds & weaker employment prospects to put downward pressure later in the yr. (Biz Tmes)

HDB flat resale volume ↓41.9% in Q2 amid circuit breaker; rental transactions also ↓, # of approved applications ↓9.1%. (Biz Times)

Singapore launches S$45m campaign to boost domestic tourism. (Biz Times)

Frasers Centrepoint Trust’s portfl Q3 occupancy ↓ 2.2% to 94.6%. (Biz Times)

Mapletree Commercial Trust Q1 (end Jun) NPI ↓ 11%YoY to S$79m, Gross rev ↓10.5%YoY to S$100m. Gradual recovery at VivoCity since Phase 2 of Singapore’s re-opening but pressure remains from prolonged COVID-19 measures & disruptions. Mapletree Biz City continues to provide support & stability. (Biz Times)

OUE C-Reit 1H DPU ↓40.5%YoY to SG 1cent; retains S$13.8m for 'financial flexibility'. 2Q Rev ↑ 24%YoY to S$64.3m, 1H ↑ 32.4%YoY to S$142m.  2Q NPI ↑ 23.7%YoY to S$50.4m. (Biz Times)

Industrial space px 2Q↓1.7%YoY & 1.1%QoQ in 2Q, per JTC. Rents↓0.8%YoY & 0.7%QoQ. Occupancy rates ↑ 0.1ppt YoY & 0.2ppt QoQ to 89.4%, lifted by single-user factory & warehouse space. (Biz Times)

Elite Commercial Reit DPU 1.95pence for Feb 6 - Jun 30, 1% above IPO f/c. Rev  £9.32m, 0.3% higher than f/c, NPI £9.1m, 0.2% above IPO f/c. (Biz Times)

Suntec Reit 1H DPU ↓31.3%YoY to 3.293 S cents, 1H gross rev ↓16.1% to S$149.4m, 2Q NPI ↓20.6%YoY to S$91m. (Biz Times)

AIMS Apac Reit 1Q DPU ↓20%YoY to 2 S cents, gross rev ↓10.9%YoY to S$27.2m, NPI ↓18.8%YoY to S$18.6m. (Biz Times)

Far East Consortium's acqn of controlling stake in EHT falls through. No definitive agreement relating to the transaction has been inked since the announcement on Jun 3. (Biz Times)

11 shops in Sim Lim Sq launched for sale at S$21m, indicative price S$4,134/ft². (Biz Times)

3 conservation shophouses in Chinatown up for sale at S$30.5m total guide price. (Biz Times)

Wolf Grp acqrs 9.34-ha site in Melb’s Highett for A$90m, to devp >500 dwellings. (AFR)

Vicinity Centres says independent valn of its 60 directly-owned retail props ↓ 11.3% for 6mths to Jun. Flagship portfl (Chadstone, Premium CBD & DFO outlet centers) net valn loss of 8.8%.

Charter Hall secures 10 yr pre-lease to online grocery retailer Marley Spoon; commits to construct a 12,200m² logistics facility in Wetherill Park, Syd. (Co)

Prop tax to go up in Bengaluru from April 2021. To dump traditional ‘unit area val method; adopt ‘guidance val method to calculate prop taxes. Experts believe likely to see 2-5 folds ↑ in tax collection. (India Times)

Sunteck Realty inks pact to devp 50-acre land parcel in Vasai, Mumbai. Will be devping entire project in phases over nxt 5-7 yrs, est total devt potential 4.5mft² w/ revenue Rs50b. (India Times)

PT Summarecon Agung rallys on their inclusion in Indonesia Stock Exchange’s LQ 45 index (BBG)

Megaworld to build 14-storey resi bldg w/ ‘1^st-in-the-city’ amenities in Bacolod. (Daily Guardian)
MEGAWORLD SAYS CAVITE RESIDENTIAL PROJECT SOLD OUT (BBG)

Thailand to extend emergency decree until Aug end. (Biz Times)

Federation of Thai Industries likely to leave up to 8mpeople unemployed by end-2020. (Bangkok Post)

Apple to launch 2^nd official Thailand shop at Central Pattana’s CentralWorld in Bangkok. (Bangkok Post)

Amata / Sinotech Engineering Consultants establishes JV for Amata Taipei Smart City Project. (Co)

Amata: capital increase, waiver from mandatory tender offer by using the Resolutions of Sh/ldrs’ Meeting, Amendment of co’s articles of association. Determine EGM on Sept 11. (Co)

S. Korea's GDP ↓ 3.3%QoQ in 2Q20, Bank of Korea said. (RTT)

Seoul's housing transactions ↑ ~90%MoM to 19,463 in Jun, highest # since Mar ’18. (Korea Joongang Daily)

CIER lifts its f/c for Taiwan’s 2020 GDP gwth to 1.77% from prev f/c of 1.03%. (Taipei Times)

Taiwan's unemployment rate ↓to 3.96% in Jun from 4.07% in May. (Taipei Times)

* My pa holdings: BAC US, 1 HK, 6 HK, ST SP