Reports and market research indicate the coronavirus pandemic has pulled forward ecommerce penetration by about two years, as global consumers experimented with, and even became reliant on, online purchasing during this period.

The shift in property demand brought about by this crisis should be easier to accommodate in Asia Pacific on account of the region’s burgeoning middle classes, which will be in constant supply over future decades through continued urbanisation and a greater appetite for consumption.

Singapore’s US$453.2 billion sovereign wealth fund GIC expects greater volatility in the global market, which will add pressure on returns amid the pandemic and ongoing US-China tensions.

The US$157 billion Korea Investment Corp is considering buying one commercial asset each in China and Europe, KIC chairman and CEO Choi Hee-nam said in a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency.

Singapore’s Mapletree Industrial Trust Management, as manager of Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT), has announced that DBS Trustee, as a trustee of MIT, has entered into agreements for the proposed acquisition of the remaining 60 percent interest in the 14 US data centres currently held by Mapletree Redwood Data Centre Trust (MRDCT) for US$210.9 million.