Liquid real estate Issue 04
| Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04 AIG Global Real Estate is one of the largest and most prolific investors in emerging markets. Now that Brazil, Russia, India and China are the focus of almost every big investor and developer, the US-based firm is far ahead of the pack. The group’s president, Kevin Fitzpatrick, speaks to Rachel Wolcott about AIG’s history in emerging markets and why enthusiasm for these markets might be overdone.
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Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
The Chinese property market is booming, even when the pace of land release is restricted. But concerns about policy and that some developers’ stocks might be overvalued have injected some caution into the market. Chris Wright reports.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
India’s real estate sector is simultaneously huge and underdeveloped. Much-needed capital is flooding in from domestic and foreign sources, yet many building plans are still prospective rather than under way while sector-focused financial instruments, including Reits, are absent or at a rudimentary stage of development. Elliot Wilson reports.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
The doom and gloom in the US is in stark contrast to the joy and boom in Russia, where there’s an overwhelmingly bullish tone across all segments of the real estate market. Guy Norton looks at the formula for success employed by two leading Russian developers.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Local banks have finally started to take the mortgage market seriously. After decades of high interest rates that made residential lending impossible, they are slowly branching out into what could be an enormous market. Chloe Hayward reports on the challenges.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
German residential properties have fallen out of favour with some of the big-name US private equity investors. Is their withdrawal a signal of market decline or is there still value to be had? Duncan Wood reports.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
The new generation of structured products linked to real estate have had a painful lesson on the US and western European markets; now they are examining Asia. Rachel Wolcott reports.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
The conversion of Hamburg-based real estate company alstria into a Reit at the beginning of October and its inclusion in a new Deutsche Börse German Reit segment in November heralded a new dawn for the German property market. But despite the big long-term potential of Germany’s position as Europe’s largest property market, observers aren’t expecting a substantial increase in the near future in the number of German Reits – known as G-Reits.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Europe’s retailers are between a rock and a hard place. Activist investors are pushing them to separate their vast property assets and realize value in the short term when the evidence suggests companies that continue to hold the freehold to their properties get higher returns in the long term. But UK supermarket group J Sainsbury could have found a solution for retailers in a joint venture with UK real estate company Land Securities – Harvest Partnership – announced in November.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Aberdeen Property Investors has teamed up with Swedish insurer Folksam to create a pooled fund structure open only to companies within the Folksam Group. Aberdeen plans to roll out this new type of instrument for indirect property investments to other large multinational companies with separate pension plans.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Land Securities’ announcement that it will split into three sector-focused specialist companies is unlikely to signal the demise of generalist UK Reits. Other large Reits, such as Hammerson and British Land, have indicated that they will not pursue the specialist route. However, now that their share prices have come under significant pressure, many UK Reits will have to reconsider their structures and strategies, making Land Securities an interesting market test case.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
The advent of trades on the Italian and Swiss Investment Property Databank indices has furthered the development of the property derivatives market. This opening up of the market into new jurisdictions is expected to continue, with market experts pointing to the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Spain and Ireland as likely candidates for the next IPD-based trades.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
The Gherkin (30 St Mary Axe), a landmark building in the City of London, has been sold to German high-net-worth and private clients through IVG Immobilien’s closed-end fund, EuroSelect 14.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Cash-rich Gulf-based funds are ploughing billions of dollars into real estate in the fast-growing economies of India and China, lured by eager regional and municipal governments and the promise of double-digit annual returns. The economies of China and India are growing at an annual rate of about 12%. US investment bank Merrill Lynch expects India’s property sector to expand to $90 billion by 2015 from $15 billion in 2005.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Big changes are coming to the UK real estate market as the government seeks to pass the planning reform bill which is aimed, in part, at streamlining and improving the planning process. If passed, the bill will introduce a single consents regime for big infrastructure projects, create an independent infrastructure planning commission and institute further initiatives to improve the town and country planning system. Now in its first reading in the House of Commons, the proposed legislation could bring the most significant changes to planning in the UK since the end of the Second World War.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Merrill Lynch has invested $377 million in the Indian real estate market, through the purchase of a 49% share of a portfolio of residential properties. The portfolio is managed by DLF, one of India’s largest developers, and comprises seven mid-income residential projects in Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Indore. The deal brings Merrill Lynch’s total investment in the market to $550 million.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Meinl European Land (MEL), Austria’s second-largest real estate company by market capitalization, is under investigation by its local regulator, the Financial Market Authority (FMA).
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
After almost a five-month hiatus the European commercial mortgage-backed securities market is showing signs of life, with a handful of deals being marketed quietly. However, market participants are by no means confident that these deals will herald the market’s resurrection. Dealers have dramatically revised their expectations for 2007 volumes. Instead of the projected €100 million-worth of CMBS, a mere €50 million is hoped for by year-end.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Leading Gulf-based real estate companies look set to benefit from the surging global demand for regional property-related securities, with many set to launch local and overseas initial public offerings over the coming months.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
London-based Rutley Capital Management, the real estate private equity arm of Knight Frank, is preparing a fund focused on east Africa. The Rutley East Africa fund will aim to raise $200 million to invest in city-centre properties in the capital cities of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Mauritius and South Africa. The fund will formally launch by the end of this year.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
A Chinese real estate investment trust market appears to have moved a step closer following comments by the general manager of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Fitch Ratings has rethought its methodology for rating and reviewing real estate asset managers. The original real estate asset manager methodology was based closely on Fitch’s general asset manager methodology, and this was also changed, in May 2007.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Prupim, the UK-based real estate investment arm of M&G, has taken steps to further its sustainability efforts. The manager has teamed up with Royal & SunAlliance to provide Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for Prupim’s entire property portfolio, thought to be an industry first.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
The European residential mortgage-backed securitization market has all but disappeared, and no one knows what the landscape will look like when investors and issuers return in January.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Market veteran Christopher Casey has joined AIG Global Real Estate in New York as a managing partner and product specialist in the capital markets group.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
JPMorgan is building its French and Italian real estate structured finance business with a string of new hires, all taken from ABN Amro.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Morley Fund Management is reorganizing its UK property team and has promoted Philip Nell as new lead manager for two leading retail funds.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Roger Blundell is the new finance director at Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, the UK arm of the international property group, which has £11 billion ($22.7 billion) of assets under management.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Vladimir Pantyushin, chief economist of Renaissance Capital, is joining Jones Lang LaSalle, Russia & CIS, as national director, head of economic and strategic research group.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Martin McGuire is joining Axa Real Estate Investment Managers as European fund manager in London.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Monte Koch is the new global head of real estate investment banking at Deutsche Bank. The former mergers and acquisitions head replaces Devin Murphy, who is leaving to pursue other interests, although he will continue to act as an adviser to the real estate business.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Wachovia Securities has appointed four managing directors to run its new integrated real estate platform.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Prudential Property Investment Management has hired two directors for its UK asset management team.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Jon Lekander is the new chief investment officer at Aberdeen Property Investors.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Guy Ratcliffe, executive director, Morgan Stanley
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Peter Sceats, director, TFS Property.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Andrea Carpenter, Inrev
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Shaun Stevens, senior product specialist, Fortis Investments
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Thomas Brown, Clerestory Capital Partners
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Spirits were high at the Euromoney/Liquid Real Estate awards dinner held on September 25 at the Four Seasons. The event brought award winners from around the globe to London, with more than 200 in attendance.
Simon Brady, Euromoney’s managing director, acted as host and presented the awards. The big winners on the night were Jones Lang LaSalle, CB Richard Ellis, Morgan Stanley, Eurohypo, ProLogis China, NBK and Clifford Chance.
Paul Zenon, the comedian and magician, supplied his own special brand of after-dinner entertainment, simultaneously thrilling and terrifying guests. Playing cards and doves flew around the stage as he set guests’ garments alight and spun a pint of Newcastle Brown Ale around his head.
The party lasted into the small hours, with guests chatting at the bar and taking to the stage for a dance.
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04
Euromoney Liquid real estate Issue 04