Asia re
REAL ESTATE Report The
June/July, 2006
ASIA REAL ESTATE Report
Worldwide English Edition Vol. VI, Issue No. 3
June/July 2006
A Comprehensive Report on the Ever-Changing and Evolving World of Public & Private Real Estate Investments in Asia
The Forbidden City, Beijing Photo by Alex Eidlin © Table of Contents: Japan China Hong Kong Taiwan 8 38 50 56 Singapore Malaysia Korea 60 60 72
Published Six Times a Year by: IRETO - The International Real Estate Trade Organization 468 North Camden Drive Suite 212, Beverly Hills, California 90210 Tel: 310-285-1770 Fax: 310-388-3028 www.ireto.org www.AsiaRealEstateReport.com
IRETO www.asiarealestatereport.com
The ASIA
REAL ESTATE Report
June/July, 2006
IRETO EXECUTIVE STAFF:
Alex Eidlin Sr. Vice President & Publisher Asia Real Estate Report alex.eidlin@ireto.org Bryan Shaffer Founder & President bryan.shaffer@ireto.org Thomas Perkins Sr. Vice President & Publisher The IRETO Report thomas.perkins@ireto.org Kamia Taylor Vice President & Marketing & Sales kamia.taylor@ireto.org
PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE There have been several important developments worth our attention in Asian real estate markets since our last issue . The interest rate environment across Asian countries has markedly changed. In the past month, central banks in most of the countries we cover in our Report raised their respective interest rates. In Korea this move came as a surprise and caused a big market decline. The Thai Central Bank followed suit during the same week; while Malaysian authorities moved earlier in the month to fight perceived inflationary pressures. Although the Bank of Japan has not made its move yet, an interest rate increase in Japan is much anticipated and has already caused major jitters in the stock market — especially among J‐REITs and real