Asia Pacific hotel investments in 2024 to eclipse last year’s growth, plus more reports

For PropertyGuru’s real estate news roundup, Asia Pacific hotel investments will total USD12.2 billion for the full year 2024 due to an influx of investment activity. In other news, Ho Chi Minh City plans to create funds for overseas Vietnamese seeking to invest in real estate, small, and medium-sized enterprises, and buy bonds for funding infrastructure. Lastly, Hong Kong’s real estate sector welcomes the government’s move to relax the mortgage loan-to-value ratio amid a property slowdown.

Asia Pacific hotel investments to cross $12 billion in 2024: JLL

Asia Pacific hotel investments will total USD12.2 billion for the full year 2024 as an influx of investment activity, a more favourable interest rate environment, and generally supportive macro and microeconomic developments will positively impact sentiment in the sector regionally. According to an analysis by JLL, full-year Asia Pacific hotel investment volumes in 2024 are anticipated to grow by 4.3 percent on 2023, which totalled USD11.7 billion.

In the first nine months of 2024, cumulative transaction volumes totalled USD9.05 billion, tracking up 15 percent year-on-year (USD7.87 billion in 2023) and representing 90 percent of the volume of 2019. Led by Japan, cross-border investment surged in YTD Sep 2024 driven by large transactions in Asia, while Australia experienced a rare lull in annual activity.

“A combination of broader economic factors, including a positive macroeconomic outlook regionally, supportive interest rate policies and solid consumption factors give us confidence that full-year hotel investment will comfortably eclipse last year. Investors have consistently shown an appetite to play larger in the hotel sector in Asia Pacific and we see no signs that activity will wane in the last quarter of 2024, making us increase our investment volume forecast to USD12.2 billion,” says Nihat Ercan, CEO, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, Asia Pacific.

HCM City seeks to unlock the investment potential of remittances by overseas Vietnamese

Ho Chi Minh City plans to create funds for overseas Vietnamese seeking to invest in real estate, small, and medium-sized enterprises, and buy bonds for funding infrastructure. They are part of the city People’s Committee’s plan to have policies to maximise inward remittances from now through 2030.

According to VietnamPlus, the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese will spearhead the implementation of the project. They will regularly report on the results, challenges, and issues, and suggest amendments if needed.

It outlines several policies to attract and utilise remittances, including directing them into the financial market (stock market and shares, among others). It sets to establish conduits to channel funds from remittance recipients to businesses, thereby facilitating the transfer of capital from individuals lacking investment opportunities to those with profitable investment prospects.

Other goals are to channel remittances into the privatisation of State-owned enterprises and the sale of public assets and diversify remittance methods to easily transfer funds from countries where large numbers of people of Vietnamese extraction live.

The city will propose to allow foreigners of Vietnamese origin to open bank accounts, and choose between holding deposits in foreign currency or the Vietnam dong.

HK Policy Address 2024: Loan-to-value ratio for home mortgages to be relaxed amid home price slump

Hong Kong’s government will relax the mortgage loan-to-value ratio amid a property slowdown, a move welcomed by the real estate sector.

The city’s leader John Lee announced on Wednesday, during the 2024 Policy Address, that the ratio for residential properties would be set at a maximum 70 per cent regardless of value, whether the property is for self-use or rent, and whether or not purchasers are first-time buyers.

The maximum debt servicing ratio would be adjusted to 50 per cent, Lee said, adding that non-residential properties would enjoy the same mortgage rules.

As reported in HKFP, the new policy will come into immediate effect, with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority issuing guidelines to all banks.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].