From left: Mandarin Oriental hotel and 3 Columbus Circle

With the European debt crisis stifling the continent’s activity in New York City real estate, China has stepped up to fill its shoes. Citing Trepp data, Bloomberg News reported that Bank of China has quintupled its lending for U.S. properties since 2008 to $2.6 billion. And six of the eight U.S. property loans the bank issued last year were for in New York City. It lent $260 million to 3 Columbus Circle, and $175 million last month to refinance the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Columbus Circle. [more]

Stephen Ross, founder, chairman & CEO of the Related Companies, and Pamela Liebman, CEO of the Corcoran Group, turned out at last night’s Stroock & Stroock & Lavan real estate reception at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in the Time Warner Center (see photos above). In the Mandarin ballroom, with its breathtaking view of Central Park, Columbus
Circle and the East Side of Manhattan, top real estate executives, lawyers
and others networked with each other over drinks and food.
Others spotted were Joseph Moinian, CEO of the Moinian Group, and Leonard Boxer, chairman of
Stroock’s real estate practice. — Miranda Neubauer [more]

To the investors hoping to score one of Dubai’s prized Manhattan properties as the beleaguered city-state struggles to climb out of its $59 billion debt hole, analysts are saying: not so fast. In order to sell any of its five Manhattan properties, Dubai World, the government’s holding company, would be taking a big hit, which might not be wise. The Knickerbocker Hotel building, which the company bought for $300 million in 2006, is half-empty and worth “nothing,” one source told the Post’s Steve Cuozzo. “They’re going to take a huge hit if they sell,” said Dan Fasulo, managing director at Real Capital Analytics. “They’re going to get wiped out.” Dubai World may also be underwater at 450 Lexington Avenue, where the company has a 99-year leasehold, purchased in 2006 for $600 million. Meanwhile, the W Hotel Union Square, bought for $285 million in 2005, was scheduled for a Dec. 8 foreclosure auction. [Post]