Uniqlo founder Tadashi Yanai to buy 300 million euro Milan building
The Japanese billionaire will pay more than 300 million euros (S$437.5 million) for the 19th century building in the city's central square, people familiar with the transaction said, asking not to be identified because the details are private.
The 161,000-square-feet structure, called Cordusio 2.0 – acquired by Hines in 2016 – has been home to Uniqlo's store since 2019. Yanai's net worth is about US$50 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Milan's property sector has seen a renaissance in recent years as revitalisation projects have helped transform several run-down neighbourhoods into upscale landmark zones. Last year, Gucci owner Kering SA spent 1.3 billion euros for a property on Milan's Via Monte Napoleone, its toniest shopping street.
Piazza Cordusio, close to Piazza Duomo, is also the location Starbucks chose for its first outlet in Italy.
A representative for Fast Retailing, Uniqlo's owner, was not immediately able to comment, while a Hines spokesperson declined to comment. Green Street News reported the deal earlier on Thursday. BLOOMBERG
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Business Times
17 minutes ago
- Business Times
China's US$11 trillion stock market is a headache for both Xi and Trump
[BEIJING] At the heart of why consumers in China save so much and spend so little, and why Xi Jinping and Donald Trump will struggle to change that behaviour even if they want to, lies the country's stock market. Even after a recent rally, Chinese indexes have only just returned to levels seen in the aftermath of a dramatic bubble burst a decade ago. Instead of incentivising consumers to spend, poor equity returns have nudged them toward saving. A US$10,000 investment in the S&P 500 Index a decade ago would now have more than tripled in value, while the same amount in China's CSI 300 benchmark would've added just around US$3,000. Part of the reason, long-term China watchers say, is structural. Created 35 years ago as a way for state-owned enterprises to channel household savings into building roads, ports and factories, exchanges have lacked a strong focus on delivering returns to investors. That skew has spawned a host of problems from an oversupply of shares to questionable post-listing practices, which continue to weigh on the US$11 trillion market. The country's leaders are under pressure to fix this. President Xi is counting on domestic spending to reach the 5 per cent economic growth goal, especially as a tariff war with the US heats up over the massive trade imbalance. At the same time, Beijing has reasons to keep prioritising the market's role as a source of capital: the country needs vast funding to nurture companies that underpin its tech ambitions – even if their profitability remains questionable. 'China's capital market has long been a paradise for financiers and a hell for investors, although the new securities chief has made some improvements,' Liu Jipeng, a securities veteran who teaches at China University of Political Science and Law, said in an interview. 'Regulators and exchanges are always consciously or unconsciously tilting toward the financing side of the business.' The limits of China's stock rally have again been evident this year. The CSI 300 has risen less than 7 per cent despite a burst of optimism over AI, trailing benchmarks in the US and Europe. The underperformance – along with factors including an uncertain economic outlook – helps explain China's extraordinarily high savings rate, which stands at 35 per cent of disposable income. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Chen Long, who works in the asset management industry, has taken to social media platform Xiaohongshu to warn people of the risks of chasing the recent rally. 'Many ordinary people come in thinking they could make money, but the majority of them end up poorer,' Chen said in an interview, adding that he has been investing since 2014. 'State-owned companies primarily answer to the government rather than shareholders, while many private entrepreneurs have little regard for small investors.' Over the past year, China's top leadership has shown greater awareness of the stock market's importance as a vehicle for wealth creation. That's especially the case with an ongoing property slump and a fragmented social safety net, which exacerbates a sense of insecurity. The Communist Party's Politburo pledged to 'stabilise housing and stock markets' in a December meeting – a rare expression of support for equities at the high-level gathering. The body also called for 'increasing the attractiveness and inclusiveness of domestic capital markets' in July. There is no quick fix to boosting household confidence 'except for a stock market rebound,' said Hao Hong, chief investment officer at Lotus Asset Management. 'This is a topic that we economists have been discussing in the closed door meetings in Beijing.'' In some ways, the market's malaise has been decades in the making. 'The exchanges are motivated to fulfill the government's call for increasing companies' financing,' said Lian Ping, chairman of the China Chief Economist Forum, a think tank that advises the government. 'But when it comes to protecting investors' interests, there are few who are motivated to do it.' An explosive growth in new listings made China the world's biggest IPO market in 2022. Yet insufficient safeguards for shareholders and lax oversight of IPO frauds have led to share price crashes and delistings – what retail investors refer to as 'stepping on a land mine.' Take Beijing Zuojiang Technology, which listed in 2019. The company said in a 2023 statement that its product was modelled after Nvidia's BlueField-2 DPU. The company warned in January the following year that it was at risk of being delisted, citing an investigation for disclosure violations. It was subsequently removed from the Shenzhen bourse. 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Business Times
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Close to 90% of high-net-worth investors in Asia-Pacific interested in transition investing: StanChart
[SINGAPORE] Close to 90 per cent of high-net-worth (HNW) investors in Asia-Pacific are interested in transition investing, a recent survey published by Standard Chartered showed. Of the 1,600 investors surveyed, 59 per cent indicated that they were very interested, while 29 per cent were interested. Investors were polled across eight markets in Asia-Pacific: Hong Kong, India, mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates. Transition investing involves channelling capital to heavy emitters for the purpose of decarbonising their businesses. The survey found that the proportion of investors that were interested in transition investing were higher than the 83 per cent interested in sustainable investing, which typically refers to allocating capital to green companies or activities. Among the eight markets surveyed, investors in Malaysia and Singapore were the second-most interested in transition investing at 91 per cent. India's investors had the most appetite, at 93 per cent. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 12.30 pm ESG Insights An exclusive weekly report on the latest environmental, social and governance issues. Sign Up Sign Up Green hydrogen (49 per cent), low-emissions fuels (47 per cent) and carbon capture and storage (45 per cent) were the top three areas that investors were most interested in. Among the top motivations for transition investing was the desire to make a positive environmental or social impact, with 57 per cent of investors indicating so. An equal number were motivated to improve their investment returns. Reflecting personal values through investments came in third, at 52 per cent. Investors believe companies from high-emitting sectors with credible transition plans will be ahead of their peers; such companies will also be in a better position to future-proof their operations and assets. Taken together, these advantages make them more attractive as an investment option, Standard Chartered said. The report cited the International Energy Agency, which said US$125 million of capital expenditure is needed in six key sectors – including electricity, transport and buildings – to bring about net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. 'Private actors are expected to contribute 70 per cent of this financing, presenting a substantial opportunity for investors,' said the report. Despite the strong interest, the survey found several barriers to transition investing. The most commonly cited obstacle, at 50 per cent, was the perception that such forms of investing come with higher risks. The lack of benchmarks to compare with other investment products (46 per cent), as well as the belief that transition investing has low returns (44 per cent), were the other top challenges cited by respondents. The survey found that there was a knowledge gap among investors on what transition investing entails. Only 15 per cent said that they fully understood the concept, while 67 per cent associated it with renewable energy investments; the remaining see it as a broader concept involving the mobilisation of capital to business transformation or leveraging market opportunities. As for sustainable investing, the survey found that investors allocated about 24 per cent of their portfolios on average to such investments, even though they preferred it to be at around 34 per cent. 'The gap between current and preferred proportions highlights both enthusiasm for sustainable investing and potential for growth in the market, as investors seek products and strategies that better align with their sustainability goals,' said the report. 'Meeting this demand will require innovative financial instruments, enhanced transparency and robust frameworks to inspire confidence and attract further capital to the sector.' Standard Chartered's chief sustainability officer Marisa Drew said the commercial case for transition investing continues to grow, with the green economy delivering total returns of 198 per cent over the past 10 years – a performance outpaced only by tech stocks. 'The opportunity to finance the transition to a low-carbon economy is both more compelling and more crucial than ever,' she added. She noted that US$2.4 trillion of climate-related investments is needed annually until 2030 across emerging and developing markets so that they will be able to implement their decarbonisation plans. This is a fourfold increase from current levels. 'To be able to address this gap, there is a need to attract all types of public and private capital, including capital from individual investors to support not only transition, but also adaptation and resilience, and the conservation and restoration of nature,' she added.
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Close to 90% of HNW investors in Asia-Pacific interested in transition investing: StanChart
[SINGAPORE] Close to 90 per cent of high-net-worth (HNW) investors in Asia-Pacific are interested in transition investing, indicated a recent survey published by Standard Chartered. Out of the 1,600 investors surveyed, 59 per cent indicated that they were very interested, while 29 per cent were interested. The investors polled were across eight markets in Asia-Pacific – Hong Kong, India, mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates. Transition investing involves channelling capital to heavy emitters for the purpose of decarbonising their businesses. The survey found that the proportion of investors that were interested in transition investing were higher than the 83 per cent interested in sustainable investing, which typically refers to allocating capital to green companies or activities. Among the eight markets surveyed, investors in Malaysia and Singapore were the second-most interested in transition investing at 91 per cent. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 12.30 pm ESG Insights An exclusive weekly report on the latest environmental, social and governance issues. Sign Up Sign Up India's investors had the most appetite at 93 per cent. Green hydrogen (49 per cent), low-emissions fuels (47 per cent) and carbon capture and storage (45 per cent) were the top three areas that investors were most interested in. Among the top motivations for transition investing was the desire to make a positive environmental or social impact, with 57 per cent of investors indicating so. An equal number were motivated to improve their investment returns. Reflecting personal values through investments came in third at 52 per cent. Investors recognise the importance of transition investing, believing that companies from high-emitting sectors that have credible transition plans will be ahead of their peers, and be in a better position to futureproof their operations and assets, thus, making them more attractive as an investment option. The report cited the International Energy Agency which said that US$125 million of capital expenditure is needed in six key sectors – including electricity, transport and buildings – to bring about net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. 'Private actors are expected to contribute 70 per cent of this financing, presenting a substantial opportunity for investors,' said the report. However, despite the strong interest, the survey found several barriers to transition investing. The most commonly cited obstacle, at 50 per cent, was the perception that such forms of investing come with higher risks. The lack of benchmarks to compare with other investment products (46 per cent), as well as the belief that transition investing has low returns (44 per cent) were the other top challenges cited by respondents. The survey found that there was a knowledge gap among investors on what transition investing entails. Only 15 per cent said that they fully understood the concept, while 67 per cent associated it with renewable energy investments, with the remaining see it as a broader concept involving the mobilisation of capital to business transformation or leveraging market opportunities. As for sustainable investing, the survey found that investors allocated about 24 per cent of their portfolios on average to such investments, even though they preferred it to be at around 34 per cent. 'The gap between current and preferred proportions highlights both enthusiasm for sustainable investing and potential for growth in the market, as investors seek products and strategies that better align with their sustainability goals,' said the report. 'Meeting this demand will require innovative financial instruments, enhanced transparency and robust frameworks to inspire confidence and attract further capital to the sector,' it added. Standard Chartered's chief sustainability officer Marisa Drew said that the commercial case for transition investing continues to grow, with the green economy delivering total returns of 198 per cent over the past 10 years – a performance outpaced only by tech stocks. 'The opportunity to finance the transition to a low-carbon economy is both more compelling and more crucial than ever,' she added. She noted that US$2.4 trillion of climate-related investments is needed annually until 2030 across emerging and developing markets so that they will be able to implement their decarbonisation plans. This is a fourfold increase from current levels. 'To be able to address this gap, there is a need to attract all types of public and private capital, including capital from individual investors to support not only transition, but also adaptation and resilience, and the conservation and restoration of nature,' she added.
