Keppel's Alpha unit in talks to buy $130 million China apartment block

Keppel Land’s unit Alpha Investment Partners is in exclusive negotiations with Morgan Stanley Real Estate Asia to acquire the Jinlin Tiandi complex in downtown Shanghai.

Valued at approximately $130 million, the luxury property consists of apartments with a total floor space of 19,000 square metres, a parking lot, and a 1,300-sq m clubhouse. Total value of the sale, however, was not disclosed by sources close to the deal.

"In the long term, this is a pretty good investment for any foreign investor," said Clement Luk, CEO of Eastern and Northeast China at Centaline Properties in a report by Reuters. "But in the short term, rental yields will be quite low because residential prices in Shanghai have risen far too quickly."

The deal, which is expected to close within the first half of the year, would be Alpha's first investment in mainland China.