Langsuan Village

State-owned agencies and local governments around the globe venture into real estate activity in the residential, office and commercial segments. 

Singapore

Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC announced this week that it had purchased a 30 percent stake in Spanish real estate company Gmp. In a joint statement to the media, the two firms said that the strategic investment would ensure Gmp’s position as a top player in the premium office and commercial property sectors in Madrid and Barcelona. GIC will invest an estimated EUR200 million (USD253 million). The duo will sell Gmp’s non-strategic assets to reinvest the proceeds in other valuable properties, as well as improve energy efficiency in its existing portfolio.

Thailand

Crown Property Bureau, a quasi-government agency operating under the supervision of a board led by the Finance Minister of Thailand, announced that it would be allotting THB26 billion (USD801 million) to build and develop a mixed-use township called Langsuan Village, located on a 56-rai plot along Lang Suan Road. According to the Bangkok Post, the entire development would comprise 14 low-rise and high-rise buildings, including three condominiums.

Chalaluck Bunnag, chief executive of Crown’s Siam Sindhorn Co subsidiary, said the multibillion budget excludes land and management costs. The group’s first project in the village, Sindhorn Residence, will be completed in Q4 2016, whilst the second, Sindhorn Midtown, will be launched at the close of 2015. A 200-room luxury hotel is also under development, as well as a museum.

Philippines

Following the announcement last July from the Quezon City government to sell the UP-Ayala Land Technohub due to alleged real estate tax deficiencies amounting to PHP117 milllion (USD2.6 million), the Philippines’ Supreme Court this week issued a temporary restraining order preventing the auction of the 380,630 sqm mixed-use property. National newspaper Business World reported that University of the Philippines Diliman officials claim that the property, which is currently leased to Ayala Land and houses several offices and commercial establishments, is legally exempt from the said property tax.

Global

In Moscow, the city government recently entered the residential property business. With a total of 1.5 million sqm of completed real estate projects under the state-owned Civil Engineering Management unit, the Russian city is building an additional 700,000 sqm, comprising infrastructure projects and residential apartments that will be sold through online auctions, according to CEO Andrei Belyuchencko. The Moscow Times reported that the city government intends to build up to 1 million sqm of mixed real estate projects annually.

Image credit: Siam Sindhorn Co.

Source: http://www.property-report.com