Commercial land for sale in HK CBD

HONG KONG • Hong Kong's government has announced the first sale of commercial land in the city's central business district in more than 20 years. The site, now used as a car park, is about 31,000 sq ft. It is valued at HK$15.8 billion (S$3 billion) to HK$17 billion, said Mr Vincent Cheung, Colliers International executive director of valuation and advisory for Asia.

It is the the first commercial development site available in Central since 1996, and rents will set "a new indicator" for offices there.

BLOOMBERG

Weak sterling helps M&A deals in UK

LONDON • Britain avoided a collapse in mergers and acquisitions activity after the Brexit vote as foreign firms used the sterling's spectacular devaluation against the US dollar to snap up companies, Thomson Reuters data shows.

British M&A totalled US$177.5 billion (S$257 billion) this year, down sharply from the record US$394.8 billion reached in 2015 - when the United Kingdom data was skewed by two of three biggest global deals - but in line with the five-year trend. Total annual M&A values averaged US$139.3 billion for the five years to the start of last year. Britain retained its place as the third-largest M&A market after the United States and China.

REUTERS