Leading today’s roundup, a Chinese state-owned behemoth is investing in a billion-dollar theme park development outside Jakarta — raising questions about the project’s Trump-branded properties in the midst of a Sino-American trade clash. Also in the headlines, Singapore has launched its first fully commercial site for collective sale this year, and global design firm Aedas has picked up a couple of awards for its commercial projects in China. And the new pay-per-view app just launched by former Wanda executive Jack Gao may have to clear some regulatory hurdles before it can upend China’s movie theatre industry.

A billion-dollar Indonesian property development with ties to Donald Trump has become the latest project in China’s globe-spanning Belt and Road infrastructure project – just as Washington and Beijing are tussling over trade.

A subsidiary of Chinese state-owned construction firm Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC) signed a deal with Indonesia’s MNC Land to build a theme park outside Jakarta as part of the ambitious project, the company said on Thursday. The project includes Trump-branded hotels, residences and a golf course, as well as other hotel, shopping and residential developments. Read more>>

Goldhill Shopping Centre in Novena has been launched for collective sale with a reserve price of S$425 million ($318 million), announced property services firm Cushman & Wakefield, the agent handling the tender exercise.

With a development charge of around S$61.2 million, the land rate for the freehold site translates to around S$2,597 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr). Cushman & Wakefield said that the sale is the first fully commercial collective sale site to be launched this year, with the tender set to close on June 27 at 3pm. Read more>>

Aedas-designed Hengqin MCC Headquarters Complex (Phase II) in Zhuhai, China, was named RLI Future Project 2018; while Olympia 66 in Dalian, China, received a high commendation for RLI International Shopping Centre 2018 at this year’s Global RLI Awards.

Designed by Global Design Principal Andy Wen and Chairman and Global Design Principal Keith Griffiths, Hengqin MCC Headquarters Complex (Phase II), with two high-rise Grade-A office towers and a series of retail, banquet, entertainment and leisure venues, sits in a prime area on the Hengqin Island in close proximity to the Lotus Bridge that links to Cotai, Macau. Read more>>

Developers sold 729 private homes in Singapore in April 2018, up slightly from the 716 units in March 2018 but down 53.5 per cent from the 1,567 units sold in April 2017.

These figures were released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Tuesday (May 15) based on its suvey of licensed housing developers. The above figures exclude executive condominium or EC units which are a public-private housing hybrid. Read more>>

As online sales in China aim to surpass $1 trillion, a survey conducted by Frost & Sullivan in partnership with retail strategy firm Azoya Consulting found that just 20 percent of foreign and US retailers feel they are adequately penetrating the market — which is a struggle as many brands see China as a “lucrative” place to do business.

“Over 80 percent of surveyed US and foreign retailers see China as a lucrative market, as affluent Chinese consumers seek quality products from overseas,” authors of the report said. “However, only 20 percent of retailers feel confident in their capability to succeed in China’s e-commerce market.” The survey polled retailers with annual sales of more than $50 million, the company said in a statement adding that 36 percent of the respondents had sales of more than $1 billion. Read more>>

On May 9, Beijing-based tech firm Yuntu Shidai (云图时代) released a new app called Smart Cinema, which is designed to stream new-release movies on mobile phones in China within the theatrical window. However, in response to media’s requests for comments, China’s Film Bureau states that all digital platforms that release video and audio content are required to obtain a license, yet Smart Cinema hasn’t obtained such a license.

Initiated by China Research Institute of Film Science and Technology, the Smart Cinema app is backed by some government departments. However, it seems that the app hasn’t received official approval and endorsement from the country’s film bureau. It remains to be seen how the issue will be resolved, and if the app will thrive and help expand the Chinese box office. Read more>>

Tune in again tomorrow for more news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.

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