Warner Bros. Discovery has revealed that it spent more than $114.9 million (£92.9 million) on its latest attraction themed to the boy wizard Harry Potter.
Called the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo – The Making of Harry Potter, the 30,000 square meter venue opened in June last year and follows a similar format to its counterpart at Leavesden Studios in the United Kingdom where all eight Potter movies were made along with the three Fantastic Beasts spinoffs.
Although the main series of Potter movies came to a climax in 2011, they are still casting a powerful spell on Warner’s bottom line. More than 18 million people have streamed through the turnstiles of the UK tour since the doors to its two cream-coloured soundstages swung open in 2012. Its success led to the development of the tour in Japan where Potter is wildly-popular.
Before the Tokyo tour had even welcomed its first guest, adult tickets, which cost $45 each, had sold out for the following two months. According to its general manager Torben Jensen, by the end of last year the tour had become the leading inbound tourist destination in Tokyo.
Built on the former site of the Toshimaen amusement park, the tour features some of the most memorable sets from the Potter films as well as interactive displays which lift the lid on the techniques used to bring them to the silver screen.
Theme park design wizards Thinkwell Group handled everything from concept development and master planning right down to in-field art direction, installation supervision and training. Thanks to its involvement with projects such as Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, comfortably the most immersive theme park outside Disney and Universal, Thinkwell has built a reputation for its astounding attention to detail. The Potter tour in Tokyo is no exception.
All of the exhibits are either original or built from the original blueprints to give guests the same breathtaking experience that the actors had on the sets.
The tour sets off inside a soaring stone replica of the Great Hall in Hogwarts Castle where Harry and his chums tuck into feasts in the films. It is identical to it right down to the design of the crockery sitting on the gnarled banqueting tables. All that’s missing is the candles floating above which were digitally added to the films in post-production.
Instead, spotlights hang from the rafters on the tour as they do on the actual set making the experience seem even more authentic.
Guests then get to peer inside Harry’s dormitory in Hogwarts Castle and walk the corridors of the Hogwarts Express steam train. There’s even a full-size recreation of the Dickensian Diagon Alley with models of towering colorful characters embedded in the wonky buildings. Just like on an actual movie set, instructions are scrawled on the reverse of the façades showing how they fit together.
All of these sets can also be found in the tour’s UK counterpart but the most spellbinding ones are unique to Tokyo. They kick off straight after the Great Hall and there’s a great sense of reveal. As guests round a corner they are suddenly met with a full-size recreation of the famous Hogwarts’ staircase which magically moves on screen when students climb its steps to get to the right doorway.
The version on the tour in Tokyo is static so it looks more like a scene from an M.C. Escher drawing. The area is also home to an equally magical feature which fans have been crying out for since it first appeared on the silver screen in 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. In an iconic scene, characters in oil paintings beside the stairway begin talking to each other and a photo opp on the Tokyo tour allows guests to appear in one of them. It isn’t the only interactive attraction on the tour.
There are no rides on the tour but some of the exhibits are almost as exhilarating. One digitally inserts guests onto the back of a broomstick and another makes it seem like they are in the crowd at a Quidditch match. First they decide whether to root for the heroic Gryffindor team or support their evil rivals Slytherin. Then a director tells them to duck, gossip, cheer or boo as they would if they were actually sitting in the bleachers. After that the cameras start rolling and the footage is edited into a sequence from the Potter films.
Visitors get to watch it on a big screen and even get to take the footage away as a digital souvenir thanks to the tour’s partnership with Nasdaq-listed specialist theme park photography provider Pomvom. That’s not all.
As anyone who has seen the Potter movies will know, wizards are governed by the Ministry of Magic and are teleported there in what is known as the floo network. They arrive in fireplaces engulfed in harmless green flames and in Tokyo, visitors can mimic this magical effect by posing for photos surrounded by smoke and strobe lighting. Although the journey to the Ministry of Magic is artificial, the spectacle is anything but.
Covering more than 900 square meters, the Ministry of Magic set was one of the biggest and most intricate ever created for the Potter film franchise and it has been rebuilt in Tokyo. The soaring set looks like one of London’s historic underground metro stations as the walls are covered with thousands of green and red tiles made from lacquered wood. It has a Victorian air as oil lamps sit on desks in circular offices set inside tiled turrets on the upper floors. At ground level, the walls are lined with golden fleurs-de-lis flanking the fireplaces where visitors arrive in the films.
Another interactive exhibit enables visitors to design their own digital mask like those worn by the villainous Death Eaters. Anyone who fancies their chances against them can train in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. Just like in the movies, it is set in a stone-walled room with stained glass windows and a sweeping stone staircase. An iron chandelier hangs above and ancient artefacts, like a skull in a glass dome sit on a wooden desk. As a teacher tells visitors to call out spells the lights flicker, the skull sways, lightning flashes from behind the window and smoke sees off a Death Eater who appears on the staircase.
Throughout the tour, the original movie props are within touching distance including costumes, wigs and, of course, wands. Rows and rows of them. Every item is meticulously tagged with details of the film it was used in, the character it was used by and even the fictional materials it is meant to be made of.
Perhaps the only aspect of the UK tour which isn’t as enchanting as the rest of it is the dining on the way. There’s no problem with the food or drink, which of course includes Potter’s favorite tipple of Butterbeer, a non-alcoholic beverage flavored like cream soda and butterscotch. However, the setting seems jarring as the dining area is designed like a studio backlot cafe which, ironically, fits the theme too well.
After being immersed in immensely detailed sets for hours, the backlot cafe seems spartan in comparison. Tokyo has taken this to heart as its dining area is themed to the frilly and flowery home of Hogwarts teacher Professor Umbridge. It serves afternoon tea in a pink and leathery central circular seating area surrounded by saucers on the walls which seem to show moving cats just as they do on the silver screen. Sparing no expense, Warner hired specialist restaurant developers Lumsden which worked with MinaLima, the graphic design firm behind the iconic art in the Potter movies.
It all comes at quite a cost. The Tokyo tour is run by Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden which also operates its UK counterpart. The company’s latest filings are for the year to December 31, 2022 and show that Warner spent $66.3 million (£53.6 million) on the construction of the Tokyo tour during that time bringing the total to $114.9 million. It opened just over five months later so the spending didn’t stop there and there may be more to come.
Many of the sets on the UK tour were bolted on after it opened to cater for its surging popularity. In Japan they were planned in from the beginning so accessibility and guest flow have been optimised. What’s more, expansion spaces have already been allocated which will minimise disruption when they are developed.
Getting the attraction to opening day took much more than money and the wave of a magic wand. As Jensen points out, construction and training for the tour took place during the pandemic.
The Japanese-speaking Dane was educated at INSEAD and has a Diploma in Business administration from Copenhagen Business School. He has been working with Japanese corporations for more than 20 years and in late 1990s was Denmark’s Trade Commissioner for Sapporo which involved him consulting with Danish companies to improve their results in the Japanese market. It worked as he increased the revenue of the Trade Commission by a staggering 250%.
Jensen went on to become project director of Merlin Entertainments’ $300 million LEGOLAND Japan which opened in 2017. He didn’t just run the operation but also managed the negotiations with the City of Nagoya to complete of the Master Development Agreement and the Land Lease Agreement. He even co-ordinated negotiations to complete the loan facility agreement between the main investor and a major Japanese bank.
It paid off as LEGOLAND Japan made an operating profit from its first year leading to a $100 million investment plan featuring a 252 room LEGOLAND Hotel and a SEALIFE attraction. Jensen also oversaw a sponsor program delivering $37.5 million of revenue over five years and helped to boost annual pass membership base to more than 100,000. It gave the resort firm financial foundations and put Jensen on Warner’s radar. That really is a magic touch.
Fujifilm said Friday it would increase its investment in a planned biotech plant in North Carolina by $1.2 billion at a time when Japan-US trade ties are in the spotlight.
The cash injection to ramp up output to meet growing demand for antibody drugs brings “the total investment in the facility to over $3.2 billion”, the company said.
It plans for the facility to reach full capacity by 2028 and says its total investment will create 1,400 local jobs.
The announcement comes with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on a tour to the United States as a state guest.
Marring the mood between Washington and Tokyo at the summit has been President Joe Biden’s opposition to Nippon Steel’s proposed $14-billion acquisition of US Steel, based in the key election battleground state of Pennsylvania.
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A planned visit by Kishida to Toyota and Honda factories in North Carolina on Friday to highlight Japanese investment is seen as an attempt to soothe fears about the deal.
Kishida told reporters in the southern state on Thursday evening that “in terms of economic relations, Japan is the world’s largest investor in the US and creates significant employment”.
“From tomorrow, I would like to use the visit to see how Japanese companies… are contributing to the US economy,” he said, touting “the great importance of promoting investment on both sides in driving the global economy”.
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Fujifilm announced its original investment in the large-scale cell culture facility in North Carolina, part of its pharmaceutical business, in 2021.
The investment is part of its strategy of enabling the firm “to construct identical large-scale production facilities” in the United States and Europe, it said.
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Microsoft on Tuesday announced a $2.9 billion investment over the next two years in Japan to bolster the country’s push into artificial intelligence.
The announcement coincides with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Washington, underscoring Tokyo’s commitment to becoming a major AI power.
Microsoft has grown into a major player…
Microsoft on Tuesday announced a $2.9 billion investment over the next two years in Japan to bolster the country’s push into artificial intelligence.
The announcement coincides with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Washington, underscoring Tokyo’s commitment to becoming a major AI power.
Microsoft has grown into a major player in the advancement of AI through its partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, propelling it past Apple as the world’s biggest company by market capitalization.
“This is Microsoft’s single largest investment in its 46-year history in Japan,” said Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft. “These investments are essential ingredients for Japan to build a robust AI Economy.”
The investment included providing “more advanced computing resources,” according to Smith, including powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) that are crucial for running AI applications.
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Microsoft also pledged to invest in training three million Japanese workers in AI skills over the next three years, and announced the opening of its first Microsoft Research Asia lab in Tokyo that will work on AI and robotics.
Underling the growing importance of cybersecurity amid increased hacking and breaches, Microsoft also announced plans to collaborate with Japan’s government to strengthen the country’s cyber defenses.
“The threat landscape for cybersecurity has become more challenging … We’re seeing that from China and from Russia in particular, but we’re also seeing growing ransomware activity around the world,” Smith told the Nikkei news outlet.
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Meanwhile, China’s central bank has been on an easing trajectory, with its latest decision in February cutting 25 basis points from banks’ five-year loan prime rate (LPR), the largest shave since the LPR was designated as the main rate benchmark in 2019.
“From the commercial real estate perspective, the appetite is quite a tale of two countries: foreign investors continue to look for opportunities in Japan but remain very silent when it comes to China,” said Henry Chin, global head of investor, thought leadership and head of research for Asia-Pacific at CBRE.
Flows of foreign money into commercial property reflect the shift from China to Japan.
In 2019, foreign investment in Chinese commercial real estate reached US$12.3 billion, almost double the US$6.2 billion invested in Japan, according to CBRE’s tracking of all transactions worth US$10 million or greater. By 2021, this gap had narrowed, with China getting US$10.1 billion and Japan US$6.5 billion. In 2022, the two countries received roughly equal foreign investment, US$8 billion for China and US$7.7 billion for Japan. Last year, the tables turned, with Japan taking in US$5 billion and China getting just US$3.2 billion.
China’s share of total foreign investment in property declined from 38 per cent in 2019 to just 8 per cent last year, while Japan’s has been relatively steady at 21 per cent in 2019 and 17 per cent in 2023, according to data cited by JLL.
“Foreign investor appetite could not be stronger for Japan at the moment,” said Pamela Ambler, head of investor intelligence for Asia-Pacific at JLL. “Despite the recent BOJ announcement, Japan is still the only market with accretive cash-on-cash returns. In fact, monetary policy may drive domestics to look overseas, opening up opportunities for foreign investors to enter the market.”
Japan slips to world’s fourth-largest economy, behind US, China and Germany
Japan slips to world’s fourth-largest economy, behind US, China and Germany
Hong Kong-based private equity fund Axe Management Partners is one investor making a major bet on Japan’s commercial property prospects. In March, it completed an acquisition of three hotels in Osaka for 10.7 billion yen (US$71 million).
Currently known as WBF Honmachi, WBF Kitasemba East and WBF Kitasemba West, the hotels have a total of 500 rooms. They are slated to relaunch in the last quarter of the year as part of Garner hotels, a brand under UK-headquartered IHG Hotels & Resorts. They will be the midscale brand’s first hotels outside North America.
“It’s very easy to see that this is an attractive market,” said Gary Kwok, founder and CEO at Axe Management. “In terms of the interest rates, it has a positive carry, and that obviously attracted a lot of the foreign capital looking for a positive yield. And in our view one of the key asset classes is hospitality.”
Axe Management, which has earmarked more than US$85 million for the acquisition and renovation, is aiming for a return of as much as 20 per cent on the investment, Kwok said.
Hong Kong, mainland China office-leasing outlook bleak, CBRE says
Hong Kong, mainland China office-leasing outlook bleak, CBRE says
As for China, opportunities are still present, especially with a number of distressed assets available in the market, said Sam Lau, Axe Management’s founder and managing partner.
“The market is very huge, and China is a place that we can never ignore,” he said. However, the company is being more selective about investments there, he added, looking into hotels, retail and student housing in first-tier cities but avoiding residential properties and offices.
Both Chin of CBRE and Ambler of JLL forecast continued strength in the Japanese commercial property market.
“Japan has strong fundamentals with its strong, stable and transparent economy,” Ambler said. “The yen is also depreciated against major currencies such as the US and Singapore dollars and has interest rate differentials to other countries, which leads to favoured lending terms and yield differences. There are also clear exits in Japan, and it is also a relatively more liquid market.”
Foreign investors, meanwhile, are likely to have a limited appetite for China for some time, Chin said.
China property: rate of decline in investment slows, official statistics show
China property: rate of decline in investment slows, official statistics show
“Japan and mainland China are in different cycles when it comes to commercial real estate,” he said. “We continue to see the growth in Japan while China is currently going through repricing with limited leasing demand.
“The Japanese economy continues to outperform, as the country has experienced real wage growth … However, the Chinese economy faces challenges while the unemployment rate continues to be on the high side.”
By Jamie McGeever
(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets.
Asian markets are likely to come under downward pressure at the open on Friday, following the sharp rise in U.S. bond yields and the dollar the previous day on the back of yet another hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation report.
Wall Street’s late slide on Thursday – the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both shed 0.3% – could tempt investors to play safe ahead of the weekend and steer Asian equities away from what would be their seventh weekly rise in eight.
The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index would need to avoid falling 0.5% or more to notch a weekly gain. Japan’s Nikkei 225, on the other hand, goes into Friday’s session down more than 2% on the week and on track for its worst week this year.
The pullback in Japanese stocks should come as little surprise – the Nikkei hit a record high above 40,000 points last week and the Bank of Japan next week could deliver its first interest rate hike in 17 years.
The Asia and Pacific economic calendar on Friday includes South Korean trade figures and import and export prices, New Zealand’s manufacturing PMI for February, and Japan’s ‘tertiary index’ gauge of conditions in the services sector.
Japan watchers are also awaiting the findings of a preliminary survey of national wage round talks from labor union umbrella group Rengo. Sources have told Reuters that signs of strong wage growth could be the switch that flips the Bank of Japan’s into raising rates next week.
Japanese news agency Jiji reported on Thursday that the BOJ has started to make arrangements to end its negative interest rate policy next week.
The main indicator though will probably be Chinese house prices for the month of February. They fell at an annual rate of 0.7% in January, the biggest decline in almost a year, and have been declining almost every month since April 2022.
A turnaround in the embattled property sector is needed for the broader economy to get going again, and to convince investors that the market and economic nadir has passed.
Curiously, China’s economic surprises index this week rose to its highest level since October, begging the question: strong data, or lousy expectations to begin with? Maybe a bit of both.
A reasonably bullish case, however, could be made for Asian risk assets on Friday. Even though the U.S. 10-year yield and dollar had their biggest rises in a month and Fed rate cut expectations were pared back, Wall Street only fell 0.3%.
Chipmakers and tech stocks across the region could also get a boost from Apple supplier Foxconn saying on Thursday that it expects a significant rise in revenue driven by booming demand for artificial intelligence servers.
Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Friday:
– China house prices (February)
– Japan tertiary index (January)
– New Zealand manufacturing PMI (February)
(By Jamie McGeever)
Change is inevitable. It’s the only thing you can count on in this world. Twenty years ago, I was becoming increasingly eager to leave for college. I yearned for the big city. And for over a decade, I loved the noise, size, and chaos of it all.
I’m just as obsessed with fast cars, motorcycles, loudspeakers, and watching movies. To clear things up, if you thought otherwise, I did not sell my 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II. It found a new home because so did I, as I’ve moved away from the big city. Neither of us enjoyed being stuck in traffic for hours in a row. We needed some fresh air, scenic backdrops, and the open road.
I found a little piece of heaven, which is 130 miles (210 km) away from where I had spent the past 15 years of my life. It’s also less than 100 miles (161 km) from my hometown so I can visit my family more often. But there’s more. The village I’m in is only 40 miles (64 km) away from one of the best driving roads in the world: the Transalpina Road (or King’s Road as some refer to it).
It’s a 92-mile-long (148 km) stretch of road across the mountains, reaching altitudes of up to 7,037 feet (2,145 meters). I’ve taken it on on my Suzuki SV650S and the Mazda MX-30 R-EV. And the RX-7 has been patiently waiting for its turn. To make things even better, the other “best driving road in the world,” as one famous journalist called it, the Transfagarasan, is only 60 miles (96 km) away. Aren’t I the lucky one?
Start of the Year Tune-up
Although I had moved to the countryside a month ago, I had entrusted the RX-7 to my buddy Mike for its start-of-the-year tune-up. The headlights stopped working in December. It turned out that a relay had failed, and now I have an extra switch for my low beams to avoid similar situations. My new driver’s door lock is now in place, so I no longer have to open the passenger door before getting the driver one.
We installed three braided brake lines in December but had issues with the fourth one. Mike took care of that, too. Then, the Intake Manifold air sensor started acting up, confusing the Adaptronic M2000 ECU. We replaced that, too. After a three-hour bus trip, I arrived on the scene to see my rotorhead friend doing additional map adjustments. Idle was a bit rough, and it didn’t help that some lady from across the street called the police on us for making too much noise in the middle of the day.
I limped from the location, discovering the car was running lean. An additional 20-minute session made everything run smoothly. As we drove the FC and FD to the car wash, I didn’t get a chance to go past 5,000 rpm. Once I did, I discovered it wouldn’t rev past 5,500 rpm. I was both mad about restricted power levels but happy that the M2000 is bright enough to protect the engine when something’s wrong.
First Car Meet of the Year
It all clicked perfectly for me. Our local JDM group organized the first Car Meet of the year. This time, they decided to allow non-Japanese cars, too. The location was spectacular, with over a dozen skyscrapers in the background. As we pulled in, over 300 people were onsite, and there were cameras pointed at us everywhere.
It didn’t take long before several RX-8s in our group arrived, and we parked between a Honda Civic EK and a Honda S2000. More and more cars arrived, including a wrapped R35 GT-R, a four-door Skyline R33, a replica of Brian Earl Spilner’s Mitsubishi Eclipse, and even a brand-new Audi RS 6. I’ve invested all my money into performance upgrades, so the FC RX-7 still looks rather rough on the outside. Combine that with the popularity of the FD, and I always feel like I’m walking in its shadows.
But I’m not concerned about that one bit. I often come across one or two hardcore FC fans, either not financially ready for its successor or just a fan of the “Synthwave” vibes it puts out. Either way, I’m getting tired of static meets. It’s nice to catch up with people, but I’d rather do it in the paddock of the racetrack after going out for a hot lap. RX-7s should never reach Garage Queen status.
Drive Back Home
Three hours into the event, I decided to head back home. I had slept for several nights before, thinking of this day. It would be the first time I would drive the FC West and the second time taking it out of the big city since I bought it in 2018. The trip back home was a mix of highway driving and a dangerous touge road locals call “the Black Hill.”
With my wife in the passenger seat, she was probably even more nervous than I was, knowing how easily I get sucked up in hitting the twisties. The FC drank up a full tank of gas (50 liters/) over 130 miles without me ever going past 93 mph (150 kph). With a straight-pipe exhaust, things get rather noisy if you get on the throttle.
But there’s a certain zone when it’s not all that bad. Despite dealing with the 5,500 rpm protection, I still had a blast navigating through the hairpins. With a set of HSD coilovers and the Stoptech/Hawk brake combo, the FC would much rather live on the touge than the highway. Sure, that’s something you’ll hear from someone with less than 300 horsepower. But I’d rather get more seat time than move on to the next level.
Countryside Rolling
Driving for three hours was effortless, and I felt sad about reaching my destination. I wanted to keep going but knew the opportunity would arise the following day. My godfather asked if I’d join him in the nearest city to buy a birthday cake, and I offered to give him a lift.
His 13-year-old son jumped out of bed, screaming to tag along, when he heard me starting the 13B. They both had a big grin on their faces for the whole trip. My godfather became fond of the wooshing noises from the HQS SSQV BOV. When I returned home, people started coming out of their houses to see what was happening.
Kids were already with cameras on, while my older neighbors didn’t seem mad but intrigued. The next thing I knew, my nephew was already taking down names for a ride-along list I now needed to fulfill. To my joy, I’ve discovered a smaller touge just a few miles from the house, and it looks like something straight out of Initial D.
2025 Plans
I’ve done the math, and it’s rather scary. I need an extra $25K to turn my car into an epic FC RX-7. That would be the cost of a new turbo, a 1.5-way diff, extra-cooling, a new body kit, tires for my Panasports G7 C5C wheels, a pair of Recaro seats, a wacky-color kind of paint job, and the list goes on and on.
I’m tempted to do more Time Attack events because that’s my cheap way out. But in my heart, I want to go back to drifting with a passion. And that only complicates things. Sure, I could get an RX-8 chassis and build it up. Or I could go down the “on a budget” road and opt for a Bimmer.
But I want to hear that 13B smashing on the rev-limiter at 9K rpm while sending the rear tires to high heaven. I hope to show you the next step in my project car journey soon. It’s a love-hate relationship, but seeing her in the driveaway makes my heart melt every single time.
In the second quarter of last year, mainland China was the largest source of investment for approved residential property investment proposals. Both the number and value of transactions rose sharply compared with the previous quarter, according to data published by Australia’s Treasury last November.
Moreover, Perth benefits from higher affordability, with median home values about 37 per cent lower than in Sydney, offering more scope for capital appreciation. “Each capital city is at a different point in the cycle,” said Darien Bradshaw, head of residential development sales, Australia, at JLL in Singapore.
Chinese buyers are not the cause of Australia’s housing woes
Chinese buyers are not the cause of Australia’s housing woes
The best way to address the housing affordability crisis is to make it easier to build new homes. To its credit, the government has taken steps to facilitate foreign investment in the BTR sector. While this is not going to move the needle on supply, it should help attract more overseas investment in rental housing. Australia’s appeal to Asian property buyers is unlikely to wane.
Nicholas Spiro is a partner at Lauressa Advisory
For PropertyGuru’s news roundup, Japan is the top cross-border commercial property investment target for 2024. In other news, Vietnamese living abroad but buying domestic property, while Manila was the fastest-appreciating luxury real estate market in 2023.
Japan is top cross-border commercial property investment target in 2024
According to CBRE’s 2024 Asia Pacific Investor Intentions Survey featured in The World Property Journal, Japan is the top target for cross-border real estate investment in Asia Pacific for the fifth consecutive year, with investors focusing on Tokyo, Osaka, and other major regional cities.
Singapore and Australia closely follow as attractive destinations for investment, as investors are drawn to developed, transparent, and liquid markets. India is the preferred emerging market in Asia Pacific, with Mumbai and Delhi capturing the interest of long-term investors seeking to expand their real estate exposure in the world’s fastest-growing economy.
Investors in the Asia Pacific region are maintaining consistent plans to acquire real estate compared to last year, with high-net-worth and private investors expected to be the most active buyers, followed by institutional investors. Notably, investors in Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong SAR display the strongest intentions to sell.
Overseas Vietnamese snap up domestic property
Foreign Vietnamese are spending big on apartments and land in Vietnam, which they consider as good investment assets compared to prices in developed markets, according to a report by VnExpress.
Harry Nguyen from Australia bought a 100-square-meter apartment in Da Nang City last December for just over VND3 billion ($122,000), which he said was a “sound” investment.
“The same apartment would have cost me around $1.5 million in Hong Kong, $400,000 in Australia, and $300,000 in the Philippines,” he said, adding that he could either live in the property or lease it for around VND30 million a month.
Manila led the world in luxury home price growth in 2023
Manila overtook Dubai as the fastest-appreciating luxury real estate market last year, according to the residential installment of Knight Frank’s Wealth Report, released Wednesday and reported in Mansion Global.
Considered the most densely populated city in the world, the capital of the Philippines recorded annual price gains of 26.3% across its high-end market in 2023, the most of any of the 100 markets analyzed by the real estate firm and property consultant.
With price growth of 16%, Dubai, which ranked No. 1 in the prior edition of the report, slipped to second place; and the Bahamas, having logged price gains of 15% last year, came in third place. The Algarve, in Portugal, and Cape Town, South Africa, both of which saw prices jump 12.3%, rounded out the top five.
The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].
A leading Chinese investment bank has amplified calls for Beijing to bolster fiscal support to consumers and businesses, citing a relative gulf in effect for pandemic-era stimulative actions taken by China and the United States.
“The US had bigger fiscal expansion during the Covid years. China needs to crank up fiscal support in the near term to break the vicious spiral as weak economic fundamentals and weak confidence are feeding off each other,” said Kevin Liu, a managing director of CICC Research.
“More fiscal support can encourage consumers and the private sector to invest and expand,” he wrote.
Lawmakers will convene in the Chinese capital next week to review the year’s policy agenda and national economic targets.
Both China and the US engaged in monetary loosening during the Covid years, although they are presently in different cycles.
China’s M2 money supply – an aggregate value of a country’s liquid assets, including currency in circulation and private banking deposits – had double-digit growth for most of the last two years, CICC said, but it failed to disperse deflationary threats and jump-start private investment, as much of the money was in credit and loans.
More fiscal support the catalyst to revive China consumption, housing market
More fiscal support the catalyst to revive China consumption, housing market
In contrast, the US’ M2 supply was trimmed by about US$500 billion last year to tame inflation. However, the bank said, its economy still fared better, maintaining strong demand and consolidating its lead over China in terms of economic size.
“In the US, money reached people’s hands, while in China, the money [came] from banks and ultimately flows back to banks,” said the CICC report.
CICC added that much of the 42.6 trillion yuan in new loans disbursed for businesses between 2020 and 2023 did not help spur the country’s economic recovery, as they became deposits or were otherwise used to service old debts.
Credit support, compared to direct fiscal disbursement – which, per CICC, carries “almost zero cost” to revive consumption and investment – was designated as an option which generated additional costs and inefficiencies, as businesses tended toward lukewarm responses.
“In China, credit support becoming bank deposits suggested low investment return and tepid credit demand, and fiscal support remained inadequate,” the bank said.
When the private sector is unwilling or unable to expand, the CICC report estimated, the central government needs an additional leveraging of 5 to 6 trillion yuan in the first half of 2024. The bank said such an approach is necessary to bring up the “fiscal pulse”, a measure of the changing impact of the budget on the economy, to 4 per cent from its current three-year low.
China’s plan to grow economy with infrastructure is self-contradictory: analyst
China’s plan to grow economy with infrastructure is self-contradictory: analyst
Several economists and policy advisers have already issued recommendations for direct fiscal backing.
Yao Yang, director of Peking University’s National Development School, has for years suggested direct cash allowances for low-income residents.
“The most effective way to encourage consumption is to issue cash [coupons],” he told Chinese media outlet Yicai.
“A one-dollar cash coupon will multiply to three to five dollars of spending.”
CALGARY, Alberta and TOKYO, Feb. 20, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Eavor Technologies Inc. (“Eavor”), the leader in globally scalable geothermal energy technology, has entered into an agreement with Kajima Corporation (“Kajima”) to receive a direct investment into the company.
The investment by Kajima demonstrates Eavor’s ability to attract capital from various entities and develop key partnerships with industry leaders worldwide. The Kajima investment not only strengthens Eavor’s balance sheet, enables the growth and deployment of Eavor’s technology in various market sectors, it also represents the third major investment in the company by a Japanese entity.
The investment aligns with Kajima’s aim to further its position as a leader in the energy transition in Japan, and beyond, while also integrates Kajima’s Environmental Vision of Triple Zero 2050, which recognizes carbon neutrality, circular economy, and nature positive as the key aspects of a sustainable society. With Eavor providing clean, dispatchable, baseload heat or power driven by a natural thermosiphon system, Eavor’s closed-loop technology naturally aligns with two of Kajima’s key sustainability objectives of carbon neutrality and circular economy. Furthermore, Eavor’s solution parallels with Kajima’s nature positive focus, given that Eavor’s system has a low ecological footprint, due to its limited surface area footprint.
Eavor-Loop™ utilizes heat from the natural geothermal gradient of the Earth, as opposed to tapping natural hot springs, which are commonly seen in geothermal activity areas in Japan.
Overall, with this investment, Kajima is making progress towards its sustainability goals, while also positioning themselves, similar to other partners in Eavor’s global ecosystem, to line up for Eavor’s game-changing global market opportunity.
“We’re very excited for the opportunity to grow and maintain a strong relationship with Kajima, this is fundamental to a long-lasting partnership and the growth of Eavor in Japan,” states John Redfern, President and CEO of Eavor.
“Changing electrical power sources to renewables is a major vehicle towards Carbon Neutrality. At Kajima we anticipate a vast potential in Eavor’s closed-loop geothermal systems,” states Michiya Uchida of Kajima.
Eavor’s solution, Eavor-Loop™, enables local energy autonomy and energy security virtually anywhere on the planet. Unlike conventional geothermal systems which require specific conditions such as niche geography or a permeable aquifer, the closed-loop geothermal system circulates a benign working fluid and retrieves heat from the earth’s subsurface through conduction.
About Kajima Corporation
Kajima Corporation is one of the oldest and largest construction companies in Japan. With a commitment to decarbonizing its supply chain and operations, Kajima Corporation is at the forefront of sustainable construction practices and innovative solutions. The company operates globally, with a strong presence in Asia, Europe, and North America. For more information, visit www.kajima.co.jp/english/welcome.html
About Eavor Technologies Inc.
Eavor (pronounced “Ever”) is a technology-based energy company led by a team dedicated to creating a clean, reliable, and affordable energy future on a global scale. Eavor’s solution (Eavor-Loop™) represents the world’s first truly scalable form of clean, dispatchable, baseload capable, and flexible heat and power. Eavor achieves this by mitigating or eliminating many of the issues that have traditionally hindered geothermal energy. Eavor instead circulates a benign working fluid that is completely isolated from the environment in a closed-loop, through a massive subsurface radiator. This radiator simply collects heat from the natural geothermal gradient of the Earth via conduction. Eavor has been supported by equity investments made by several leading global energy producers, investors, developers, and venture capital funds including Vickers Venture Partners, bp Ventures, Chubu Electric Power, BDC Capital, Temasek, BHP Ventures, the Canada Growth Fund, the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, and now, Kajima Corporation. info@eavor.com – Eavor.com
Contact
Eavor Technologies Inc.
John Redfern
President & CEO
press@eavor.com
Tel: +1-650-269-2501