Blackstone is buying real estate in Japan.

I came across an article published by Bloomberg on 22 July, 2010, that Blackstone may buy Morgan Stanley's real estate assets in Japan.  Here are some salient points:

Prices for Tokyo office buildings have fallen as much as 50 percent from their 2007 peak, according to an estimate by CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.’s Japan subsidiary. Blackstone’s first purchase in the country, after opening a Tokyo operation three years ago, may suggest prices are set to climb, said Takashi Ishizawa, a real estate analyst at Mizuho Securities Co.

“The news confirms my view that property prices in Japan have reached bottom,” Ishizawa said in a telephone interview in Tokyo. “Now is the time to invest.”

Japan’s nationwide average land prices dropped 8 percent in 2009 from a year ago, the second straight annual decline, the National Tax Agency said in a report earlier this month.

The drop has attracted other buyers. Acquisitions by the country’s 38 publicly traded real estate investment trusts more than doubled in the first quarter to 229 billion yen from the same period last year, according to IB Research and Consulting Inc., a Tokyo-based research firm.

Japan’s listed real estate investment trusts have raised 195.5 billion yen in the first six months of this year, the highest since 2008, as they look to expand their portfolios, according to Mizuho Securities Co.

Read full article here.

Related post:

Buy Japanese real estate.

Starhub: Testing support.

Technically, this counter looks a bit weak. $2.38 has been established as a strong resistance while $2.30 is a many times tested support. Volume was rather high today as price started at $2.38 and travelled all the way down to test the support at $2.30 before closing just 1c higher at $2.31.  Could the rising 50d and 100d MAs lend support to $2.30 or would the support break?

The declining MFI suggests that demand has weakened while the declining MACD suggests that the shorter term MA is losing altitude.  All in, a rather ominous picture for the bulls. Support at $2.30 is critical. If this support level holds as momentum oscillators decline, that is a sign of strength. If it were to break, $2.22 would be the immediate downside target.

STI drops 0.3% to 3,014.77 at closing.

Hyflux (HYF SP), Singapore’s biggest water treatment services provider, increased 1.6% to $3.28. The company said it and Mitsui & Co. will start a venture to buy stakes in four water treatment plants in China and offer to take Hyflux Water Trust (HYFT SP) private. The trust surged 11% to 76 cents. The venture will offer to buy 205.5 million shares in Hyflux Water at 78 cents each.

Tuesday, 03 August 2010

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AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT: New SS.

There is a new substantial shareholder for this REIT: Dragon Pacific Assets Limited.

No. of Shares held before the change: 38,985,000

No. of Shares which are subject of this notice: 66,693,000

No. of Shares held after the change: 105,678,000
As a percentage of issued share capital: 7.21%

Reason given:  Acquisition for investment purposes.

Many are probably wondering who are the sellers as this is probably a married deal. The volume is really very high.  Fundamentally, more substantial shareholders with a longer term investment horizon is good for the REIT. They would give a stronger floor to the unit price and, therefore, a firmer platform for possible future price appreciation.

Technically, the big sell down today at 22.5c sent the MFI crashing into the oversold region. The MFI has also formed a lower high.  What we see now is a negative divergence with price which has moved up to test the long term resistance of 23c in recent sessions.  23c remains a formidable resistance.

OBV dropped a notch and the MACD seems ready to form a bearish crossover with the signal line.  With XD date approaching in another 3 days, a pull back in the unit price of this REIT is probable.  In such an instance, expect initial support at 22c and a stronger support at 21.5c, the midpoint of the trading range (20c to 23c).  Good luck to fellow unitholders.

CapitaMalls Asia: Sell on news?

The market seems unimpressed with CapitaMalls Asia's results.  Price tried moving higher, touched a high of $2.18 before declining to close unchanged at $2.16. The MACD is back in positive territory which suggests that we are once again seeing positive momentum in price movement.

Although the rising MFI suggests a strong demand, the OBV has turned flat in the last two sessions which suggests that neither accumulators nor distributors have the upper hand. Therefore, the lower volumes in the last two sessions as the price tried to move higher should be taken as a strong cautionary note.

Having said all these, it is worthwhile noting that price has closed above the 100dMA again even though it's a black candle day.  If the 100dMA is confirmed as the new support, price could move higher.

CapitaMalls Asia achieves 1H 2010 net profit of $209.8m
Tuesday, 03 August 2010

© 2010 - The Edge Singapore