Singapore became the biggest investor in Japan’s real-estate sector this year, charmed by the yen’s weakness and growing demand in the logistics and hospitality industries, Knight Frank LLP said.
Inflows from the city-state have totaled about US$3 billion so far this year, followed by investors from the US, Canada and the United Arab Emirates, a report published earlier this month said.
Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte’s purchase of six warehouses in Japan from Blackstone Inc for US$800 million contributed greatly to that, Knight Frank’s Asia-Pacific research head Christine Li (李敏雯) said.
Photo: EPA-EFE/FRANCK ROBICHON
GIC chief investment officer Jeffrey Jaensubhakij recently described Japan as a “very cheap” market where value can be realized, and with a long way to run. International investors are also attracted to its low borrowing costs, and investing more into hotels because of a post-COVID-19 tourism boom.
Foreign investors, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc, KKR & Co and Blackstone have spent a combined US$2 billion on hotel deals in Japan this year, more than any other sector in Asian commercial property, MSCI said.
Japan’s surge in hybrid work arrangements and rising supply has eroded investors’ appetite for office spaces, Knight Frank said.
Separately, the Japanese government would implement policies to boost part-time workers’ take-home pay to tackle labor shortages, the Yomiuri newspaper reported yesterday, without saying its source.
The government would also pay up to ￥500,000 (US$3,370) per employee to companies that have more than 100 employees with plans to raise wages or extend working hours.
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