UBS to grow India-China property business

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SINGAPORE, Jan 3 (Reuters): Swiss bank UBS plans to expand its Asian property business as investor appetite for China and India proves resilient to global economic uncertainty, its real estate head said Thursday.
UBS, one of the most active arrangers of Asian share issuance, will add four investment bankers to its regional team of 18 in Hong Kong and Singapore, focusing on the property, gaming and hotels sector.
"I can easily think of 15 Chinese real estate companies that could potentially raise money this year," Mark Ebbinghaus, UBS' Asian real estate, lodging and leisure head told the news agency.
"There is speculation that we will see another 5-6 Indian issuers, although maybe 2-3 of these will get done," he added.
In spite of the global credit crisis, triggered by problems in the US subprime market, investors still want to plough money into Chinese and Indian property firms as the two economies continue to grow at a blistering pace, Ebbinghaus said.
"People are taking longer term bets in China and India knowing that not every deal there will make them money," he added.
At least three big Chinese property firms-Hengda Real Estate Group, Star River Group and Longhu Real Estate-are expected to raise a combined $4 billion in Hong Kong this year, while India's DLF Ltd and London-listed Indian property group Unitech Corporate Parks are both in talks to float real estate investment trusts (REITs) in Singapore.
UBS topped the Asia-Pacific investment banking league table last year, earning over $700 million in fees, according to Thomson Financial data.
But the bank was also a prominent victim of the subprime crisis, with $14 billion of write-downs. Last month, UBS sold a stake of around 9 per cent to the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation and a smaller stake to investors from the Middle East, believed to be from Saudi Arabia.