JAPAN REAL ESTATE NEWS

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12.03.07
Full article: Lending, not subprime, real worry for Japan banks "Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said Monday that the subprime mortgage crisis is unlikely to seriously impact the Japanese financial system because of a limited exposure to credit markets"
Full article: BOJ chief says subprime crisis unlikely to affect Japanese financial system
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November 2007


"they now account for 50 per cent of all new property purchases"
Full article: Foreigners buying half of Japan "The center will be added to ING Real Estate's Asia Retail Fund, ING said."
Full article: ING Real Estate purchases 56,321-m² North Port Mall in Japan "'We have zero direct investments in subprime mortgage-related products,' said Yoshinobu Tsutsuji, a managing director at Nippon Life Insurance, Japan's biggest insurer."
Full article: Japan insurers see limited subprime mortage impact "Japanese heavy machinery maker IHI...said on Monday it would sell property in Tokyo to Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co"
Full article: Japan's IHI to sell property for $710 mln "Japanese heavy machinery maker IHI...said on Monday it would sell property in Tokyo to Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co"
Full article: Japan's IHI to sell property for $710 mln "The Tokyo Stock Exchange REIT index has fallen even as land prices advanced."
Full article: Real estate investment trusts are poised for takeover in Japan "Fortis Investments, which has about 130 billion euros ($190 billion) in assets under management, will launch two new "funds of funds" -- funds that hold a portfolio of other investment funds -- focused on European and Asian property."
Full article: Fortis Invest eyes Japan pension funds "The Paris-based company will invest in office buildings, bringing the value of its property in Japan to 160 billion yen ($1.5 billion) in the next three years"
Full article: Societe Generale to Increase Japan Property Investment 5-Fold "The value of its Japanese serviced-apartment operation will about $300 million once the expansion is done"
Full article: Lehman to double serviced apartments in Japan to 14,000 "Blackstone is believed to be among several parties interested in Solare"
Full article: Lone Star selling Japanese hotel operator: sources "A merger would create a bank that...would be strong in specialised areas such as real estate and in targeting wealthy clients"
Full article: Sumitomo Trust and Aozora to form alliance -paper "Boubyan Global Real Estate Fund, sponsored by Boubyan Bank, has acquired three office properties in Tokyo for JPY 4.38 billion"
Full article: Boubyan Bank to launch Japan's 1st Islamic real estate finance "One senior Japanese banker, commenting on Japanese banks' relative lack of exposure to the US subprime market, confessed that many banks had not even figured out whether to invest in subprime before the whole thing came crashing down."
Full article: No safe place for Japanese banks "...real estate transactions in Japan rose 16 per cent in the first half of this year to more than $30bn and comprised 55 per cent of all transactions in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Jones Lang LaSalle"
Full article: Japan's solid foundations for investors "Office rent in the capital is heading for the biggest gain since 2004, rising 10 percent on average so far this year. Rent rose 8.8 percent in 2006 and 1.5 percent the year before."
Full article: Tokyo October Office Vacancies Fall to Six-Year Low (Update1) "The tighter rules have slowed the application process for construction plans and have led to a large number of rejected blueprints"
Full article: Housing starts plunge by 44%
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October 2007


"It is extraordinary to watch the Government trigger the collapse of an entire sector of the economy with the stroke of a pen, said Macquarie chief Japan economist, Richard Jerram."
Full article: Quake law sends tremors through Japan "Sapporo Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiary Yebisu Garden Place Co. will tie up with Morgan Stanley Japan Securities Co. to jointly manage properties"
Full article: Sapporo, Morgan Stanley to tie up "Property investment in Japan grew 16 percent to a record $30 billion in the first half of 2007, reflecting Japan's solid real estate market, consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle Inc "
Full article: Japan property investment hits record in H1-report "Corporates are also in good shape, as strong banking relationships are helping Japanese companies maintain strong liquidity"
Full article: Subprime impact on Japan limited - Moody's "The problem in Japan, on the other hand, is that the market for land- and housing-related securitization is so underdeveloped."
Full article: Japan should study U.S. housing crisis, end land price stagnation "Japan downgraded its assessment on the housing market for the first time in six months in its monthly report"
Full article: Japan Cuts View on Housing Market "The new company, Morgan Stanley Japan Holdings Co., will control such group firms as Morgan Stanley Japan Securities Co., Morgan Stanley Asset & Investment Trust Management Co., hotel operator Panorama Hospitality K.K. and Jipang Mortgage Finance Co. "
Full article: Morgan Stanley to Set Up Holding Firn in Japan "SGAM Alternative Investments (SGAM Al) Real Estate Investment Management (REIM) business plans to open its Japanese investment fund for a second round of capital raising in December"
Full article: SGAI to reopen Japan real estate fund for Christmas Video
Full article: Japan back from Bubble "ProLogis will double its Japan portfolio to 1.12 trillion yen ($9.5 billion) in the next three years"
Full article: ProLogis Plans to Double Investment in Asia and Japan "The problems -- unrelated to the housing sector troubles in the United States -- stem from rules introduced by the government after a scandal in 2005 over falsified engineering data for apartment blocks."
Full article: Japan's housing woes to hit growth, shackle BOJ "The ratings agency Standard & Poor's said its rating on the Nomura group would not be affected by its loss, citing its generally solid performance in other segments like domestic operations."
Full article: Japan's Nomura will shut U.S. mortgage business "Most land is no dearer than in the 1970s."
Full article: Property in Japan: Back from the grave "Goldman Sachs Group Inc...plans to buy Japanese property company Simplex Investment Advisors Inc. for 124.7 billion yen ($1.1 billion) "
Full article: Goldman Plans to Buy Japan's Simplex for $1.1 Billion "Goldman's buy-out spree has established it and Lone Star as the leading golf club owners in Japan in a market estimated at Y1,000bn in which the tide appears to be turning"
Full article: Goldman golf club in Japan falls below par "In its latest Global Capital Flows, Jones Lang LaSalle says that Australian investors placed $US4.4 billion ($5.4 billion) overseas, with the largest share going to Japan (23 per cent), followed by Singapore with 9 per cent."
Full article: Investors turn to Japan, Singapore "`Land values in prime locations in Tokyo and the other major metropolitan areas have been enjoying very, very strong appreciation over the last one to two years,' said Jack Chandler, chief executive of LaSalle Investment Management's Asia-Pacific operations.."
Full article: Goldman to Invest $1.7 Billion in Japan Property Boom "Banking analysts have said Japanese firms have little to fear from the subprime market squeeze because they have made relatively small investments in the mortgage-backed products"
Full article: Japan investigating subprime exposure
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September 2007


"Fortunately, Japanese financial institutions' investment in subprime loans was tiny, meaning there is currently little danger for this country...They were also protected by the relatively low volume of their financial transactions due to the delay in the nation's financial deregulation."
Full article: Subprime loans a sweet poison / Japanese lenders in the clear, but more by luck than judgment "Union Investment Real Estate currently has 10 properties worth 500 million euros (705 US dollars) in the region. 'We would like to grow the portfolio value to at least 2 billion euros'"
Full article: German fund manager eyes Asia properties "Mitsui Fudosan Co. is in the final stage of talks to buy a stake of about 33 percent in Imperial Hotel Ltd. for about ¥90 billion"
Full article: Mitsui Fudosan targets stake in Imperial Hotel "Land prices in Japan's three largest metropolitan areas rose for a second-straight year, and nationwide commercial land prices rose for the first time in 16 years"
Full article: Land Prices in Japan's Top Cities Gain a Second Year "Commercial land prices in Japan rose for the first time in 16 years, according to government data released on Wednesday"
Full article: Ginza deals show recovery in Japan property "The ongoing U.S. subprime mortgage problem has had no serious impact on the Japanese economy, Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga said Tuesday."
Full article: No serious fallout from U.S. subprime woes "Real estate transactions continue at a brisk pace in Japan, with Toshiba expected to be the latest to cash out on a prime building in the central Ginza district in Tokyo"
Full article: Toshiba To Sell Its Ginza Office Block
Full article: Analysts get bullish on Japan "Akiyama will oversee the largest commercial real estate services company in Japan, with 800 employees in 20 offices. Formerly known as Ikoma, CB Richard Ellis"
Full article: Akiyama Takes Reins at CBRE Group in Japan "Pacific Century Premium Developments Ltd (PCPD), a real estate development arm of Hong Kong telecommunications giant PCCW Ltd, has purchased resort developer Nihon Harmony Resorts KK"
Full article: Hong Kong's PCCW acquires Hokkaido resort developer "Tokyo Star Bank Ltd., the Japanese regional bank controlled by U.S. buyout firm Lone Star Funds, raised earnings forecasts "
Full article: Tokyo Star Raises Profit Forecast on Property Sales "Putting it simply, love hotels have a stable source of revenue"
Full article: Latest investment tip: Have a dabble in the hot love hotel market
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August 2007


"In the latest sign that select Japanese real estate has regained its allure, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is finalizing a $318 million deal to buy Tiffany & Co.'s flagship property in Tokyo"
Full article: Tokyo Property Lures Goldman "The subprime problem in the U.S. may bring some opportunities in Asia," said Yoshida. "Real estate funds focusing on Asia investment may increase."
Full article: GE Real Estate may increase holdings in Japan 60% this year "Kenedix and Pacific Management, the second- and third-largest real estate asset managers in Japan, may buy smaller rivals as they find it harder to find bargains in Tokyo's resurgent property market"
Full article: Japan real estate firms look at buying smaller rivals "Average monthly rents for premium office buildings advanced 6.2 percent in the second quarter from the previous quarter to a 13-year high ?46,308 per tsubo, or $118 per square meter, according to a report last week by real estate broker Jones Lang LaSalle"
Full article: Japanese pension fund group eyes real estate "Global investment firm Blackstone Group is opening a real estate office in Tokyo to hunt for deals in Japan's booming property market"
Full article: Blackstone opens real estate office in Tokyo: sources "Fujiya Co. said Monday it will sell a building in Tokyo's Ginza area to an arm of the U.S. financial giant Goldman Sachs for 9.3 billion yen"
Full article: Fujiya to sell a building in Ginza "The new BGI fund is based on an index that has more than 330 components, and its largest country is Japan at roughly 22%, followed closely by Australia. All three funds include Westfield Group as their largest component, while Land Securities Group PLC is also included in the top ten holdings for all three."
Full article: BGI's New International REIT ETF Is Heavy On Japan "unlike the late 1980s, when Japan's economic boom created one of the greatest bubbles of all time, this time around, the growth is steady, healthy, and building a solid base"
Full article: Day of Reckoning! "Japan has seen a major boost to its luxury hotel market recently. The Conrad, Mandarin Oriental and Ritz Carlton are all boosting the number of high-end rooms in Tokyo. The Peninsula is also scheduled to open in September. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley plans to acquire IHG ANA?s 13 hotels in Japan for US$2 billion (?280 billion) ? one of Japan?s largest real estate transactions and one that has attracted massive media interest. "
Full article: New Dawn for Japan's Tourism "Nine capital cities -- Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and Fukuoka -- saw more than 20 percent increases in average land prices this year. "
Full article: Japan's average land prices surge 8.6% this year "The price of land in this area rose 33.3 percent compared with the previous year to hit 24.96 million yen per square meter, bringing the price of a piece of land the size of a postcard to about 369,000 yen."
Full article: Land in Tokyo's Ginza fetches 24.96 million yen per square meter
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July 2007


"Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and private real estate group Grosvenor have traded the first-ever Japanese property derivative"
Full article: RBS and Grosvenor trade first Japan property swap "Japan, China and Singapore represented the strongest real estate markets in the region"
Full article: Global Real Estate Investment of $382 Billion in First Half of 2007 Surpasses Full-Year 2003 Figure "The institute said developers are holding back on sales of completed condominium units in the 23 wards because they expect prices to climb later on the back of increasing land prices"
Full article: Fewest Tokyo condos on sale since '94 "Japanese bonds backed by commercial property loans or protected for inflation are ``attractive'' as prices may rise at a faster pace in the next three to five years, according to Pimco Japan Ltd. "
Full article: Pimco Favors Japan Mortgage, Inflation-Linked Bonds "The economy is so healthy it's bad for business, according to Mitsuo Hirose, who heads golf operations in Japan for John Grayken's Lone Star Funds. "It used to be we'd just buy and buy," Hirose, 70, said of the company's roster of 111 Japanese golf courses. "But now, because prices went up so much, we have to be very careful about acquisitions." "
Full article: Lone Star's acquisitions of golf courses suffering in economic recovery "Global development and real estate company AMB Property Corp. said Monday it bought eight facilities in Japan."
Full article: AMB Property Buys 8 Japanese Facilities "Japan's Mitsubishi Estate Co plans to begin developing properties in regional cities "
Full article: Japan's Mitsubishi Estate looks outside Tokyo to develop properties "Property investors Redwood Group and Galileo Japan Trust acquired about $520 million of Japanese real estate"
Full article: Galileo and Redwood buy as land prices recover in Japan "Morgan Stanley, which has been profitable in each of the past 10 years, reaped the benefits of a growing securitisation market, particularly real estate securitisation. It has formed tie-ups with Japanese regional banks to build a thriving new business securitising home loans provided to people who previously could not take out mortgages."
Full article: Record revenues for foreign banks in Japan
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