i Develop Stocks Advisory

Morgan Stanley buys Citigroup Japan headquarters Morgan Stanley said on Tuesday it has bought the land and building of Citigroup Japan's headquarters, in a deal that underscores the investment bank's enthusiasm for the Japanese real estate market. Financial terms were not disclosed. The Nikkei business daily said the transaction was worth 48 billion yen. Citigroup said it had completed the sale-and-lease back deal of the Citigroup Center as part of its efforts to improve Citibank Japan's balance sheet and to lessen the risk of holding property assets. Morgan Stanley, which made the acquisition through a Germany-based real estate fund, has been one of the most active players in Japan's property market. Last year it paid $2.4 billion to buy 13 hotels from All Nippon Airways. It has also bought a stake in Japan's third-biggest beer maker Sapporo Holdings Ltd to work with it in the real estate business. This month it sold the land and building of the Westin Tokyo hotel, located in central Tokyo to Singapore's largest sovereign wealth fund, the Government of Singapore Investment Corp for around 77 billion yen, according to the media reports.