BLACKSTONE is in advanced talks to sell three logistics projects in China to Ping An Insurance (Group), according to sources familiar with the matter, in a major exit from the business amid rising appetite among domestic investors.
The US firm plans to offload the real estate in the China Greater Bay Area to Ping An Life Insurance for about 2.7 billion yuan (S$499 million), the sources said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The projects include a 49-acre park in Foshan city and two others in Dongguan, the sources said.
Blackstone will still manage the projects after the sale, which could be completed in the second quarter, the sources said. Cailian reported the sale earlier. Blackstone and Ping An Insurance’s asset management unit declined to comment.
The deal, if successful, would mark a sizeable exit for Blackstone’s logistics business in China. The US alternatives asset manager made broad expansions in the country’s logistics operations until 2022, before a property downturn rippled across the economy. Foreign companies have dialled back on investments, while some retreated altogether.
In January, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board sold its 49 per cent stake in four real estate joint ventures with Longfor Group Holdings to an affiliate of Dajia Insurance Group for C$235 million (S$220 million).
Once a thriving corner of China’s commercial real estate market, logistics centres have shown signs of strain since late 2023. These hubs were built in anticipation of a long-lasting boom in e-commerce, manufacturing and food storage, but many are losing tenants, forcing building owners to slash rents and shorten lease terms.
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But the Greater Bay Area, where Blackstone’s assets for sale are located, have seen the lowest vacancy rates in the country, according to researcher Warehouse In Cloud. The cluster of southern Chinese cities near Hong Kong and Macau benefited from a boom in cross-border e-commerce.
The talks also signal that long-term investors including Chinese insurers are pursuing acquisitions to juice up returns, as a deflationary spiral threatens to drive yield from fixed-income investments lower. China’s 30-year government bond yield is hovering at around 2 per cent, the lowest levels since at least 2005.
The logistics parks for sale offer higher yields compared with that, the sources said.
Prospects of listing logistics assets through real estate investment trusts, or Reits, have lured local investors. Many snapped up these funds in the past year for their dividend income.
The three projects for sale are part of assets under DragonCor, a portfolio company owned and managed by Blackstone real estate funds set up around 2018. BLOOMBERG
