Property

The prospect of deflation, after decades of rapid expansion, has loomed over the world's second-biggest economy since July's consumer prices reverse.
Asia Insight

China deflation dread stalks property trade, struggling firms

Summer CPI gloom leaves consumers, markets bracing for impact of weak demand

12 September 2023
From September 2016, Guangzhou had imposed price limits on new housing projects.
Caixin

China's Guangzhou scraps controversial housing price limits

Policy was criticized for distorting property market

11 September 2023
In June, Mori Trust led by CEO Miwako Date bought a 49.9% stake in 245 Park Avenue, a 45-story commercial tower worth $2 billion, from SL Green Realty. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Kyodo and Mori Trust)
Market Spotlight

Japanese investors buy New York office property despite risks

Weak yen fails to stop Japan Inc. from diving into U.S. commercial real estate

11 September 2023
A residential tower under construction at the Forest City development in Malaysia on Sept. 6. The overall project aims to house 700,000 people by 2035. (Photo by Kenji Kawase) 
China debt crunch

Country Garden's Malaysian project in focus amid contagion worries

$100bn Forest City development is troubled company's biggest overseas project

8 September 2023
The old Tsukiji site has stood largely empty since the fish market relocated in 2018. (Photo by Shugo Tamura)
Property

Tokyo could see $5bn-plus stadium project at former Tsukiji market

Exclusive: Mitsui Fudosan leads investor group bid to redevelop landmark

8 September 2023
China's real estate slump has forced financially struggling developers to halt work on housing projects.
China debt crunch

China debt risks loom over global financial system

Banks and foreign investors face prospect of heavy losses on loans to developers

8 September 2023
The office vacancy rate in Tokyo hit nearly 6.5% in July due mainly to remote work and weak corporate demand. (Photo by Takeshi Hashimoto)
Property

Tokyo office vacancy hits 10-year high; rents drop 30% in 3 years

Glut persists as remote workers stay home, companies rethink operations

7 September 2023
Office vacancy rates in Hong Kong's Central business district climbed into the double digits last quarter.
Property

Hong Kong REITs down 26% this year as investors exit China

Office vacancies and higher interest rates weigh on market

6 September 2023
The Nikkei Stock Average finished at 33,036 points on Tuesday, the first time in roughly a month the index closed above the 33,000-point mark. (Photo by Yutaka Miyaguchi)
Markets

Restaurant, real estate and banking drive Japan stock rally

Higher prices and interest rates lift domestic-demand shares

6 September 2023
A financing vehicle-funded tourism facility in Chongqing. (Photo by Shunsuke Tabeta)
China debt crunch

China tries to defuse local debt risk with $200bn refinancing tool

Latest support measure meant to help roll over hidden debts

2 September 2023
Developer Country Garden's failure to make interest payments on dollar-denominated bonds has raised anxieties about the Chinese real estate sector.
China debt crunch

China's top insurers reassure investors on property exposure

Ping An says it has been reducing real estate investments for several years

1 September 2023
Work has stopped on this partly built outlet mall in China's Anhui province. (Photo by Noriyuki Doi)
Property

China real estate developers face insolvency risk if property values tumble

Housing market slump weighs on unfinished projects stuck on balance sheets

1 September 2023
An employee works on a steel processing production line at a factory in Hefei, Anhui province, China, in 2020. (China Daily via Reuters) 
Economy

China factory PMI improves slightly but still stuck in contraction

Policy support seen buoying August figure; markets unlikely to take 'much comfort'

31 August 2023
Country Garden is the latest big Chinese property group to have its struggles with weak cash flow emerge.
Property

China's Country Garden suffers record $6.7bn loss as business model falters

Strategy of linking schools with residential developments hurt by clampdown

31 August 2023
A Country Garden community in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province in October 2021. (Photo by Dongxu Fang / Costfoto/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Caixin

The roots of Chinese developer Country Garden's debt woes

Financials of private real estate giant sour this year after sales plunge

30 August 2023
The site of the former Tsukiji market will be redeveloped. (Chuo Ward, Tokyo)
Property

Mitsui Fudosan-led group plans to redevelop ex-Tsukiji market site

In addition to hotel and conference center, ballpark might be included

30 August 2023
Shenyang in China's northeastern Liaoning province, where half-finished luxury mansions lie empty and unsold, is a stark symbol of China's crippled housing market and the post-COVID economic boom that wasn't. 
The Big Story

China in charts: Missing economic boom points to slowing post-COVID growth

Economists say industrial model based on infrastructure and real estate is grinding to a halt

30 August 2023
Shares of embattled real estate developer China Evergrande Group resumed trading in Hong Kong on Aug. 28 after more than 17 months of suspension.
China debt crunch

China Evergrande shares fall 79% on first trading day since ban lifted

Developer postpones meeting with creditors over onshore debt to late September

28 August 2023
The Bell Tower in the western Chinese city of Xi'an.
China debt crunch

China local government steps in to help indebted property vehicles

City of Xi'an leads an effort to stabilize nation's troubled real estate sector

25 August 2023
At least eight ESR funds are active, including those for Japan, Australia, South Korea, China and Singapore. (NIKKEI montage/Source photo by Getty and logo from ESR's website)
DealStreetAsia

Hong Kong-listed real estate manager ESR raises $2bn

Company to pour 80% into new economy sector despite weak global fundraising

25 August 2023
A hotel owned by Zunyi Road and Bridge Construction: This company reached an agreement with creditors to roll over its debts, but analysts say regulators are unlikely to agree to more such deals.
Caixin

China's economy hostage to local governments' hidden debts

Experts warn of potential systemic risk to broader financial system

23 August 2023
China's central bank surprised markets on Aug. 21 by holding the five-year loan prime rate at 4.2%, leaving mortgage payments unchanged for many borrowers. (Source photos by Getty Images) 
China debt crunch

China's central bank faces dilemma: save bank profits or property

Banks' financial health complicates PBOC's task to bolster housing market

22 August 2023
The Country Garden One World City project on the outskirts of Beijing. Missed debt payments by the major Chinese developer have revived fears about the real estate industry's finances. 
China debt crunch

More economists cut China forecasts as real estate gloom deepens

Developers reveal further losses while Country Garden loses blue-chip status

21 August 2023
Ho Chi Minh City has plenty of upmarket condos, but analysts hope a market correction will bring Vietnam's prices back down to earth. (Photo by Lien Hoang)
Property

Vietnam hopes property shakeup will remedy supply-demand mismatch

Echoes of China as bond defaults mount and real estate deals slow

21 August 2023
The debt crisis at Country Garden has raised fears of widening real estate sector woes.
China debt crunch

China's Country Garden to propose delaying $535m debt redemption

Embattled developer seeks to reach workout plan with creditors

20 August 2023