BoC makes $800m loan to Brookfield to refinance NY skyscraper

Brookfield Properties (BPO.NYSE) will receive a loan of US$800 million from Bank of China (601988.SH, 3988.HK) to refinance an office building in Manhattan, the Wall Street Journal reported. Brookfield confirmed the deal, but provided no further details. The loan for the building – a 44-floor office block with tenants that include J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM.NYSE) and Major League Baseball – may be an indication that Chinese investors are contributing to a recovery in US commercial real estate. Chinese banks had US$1.8 billion in commercial real estate loans outstanding in US branches in the second quarter of 2010, more than double the level a year earlier. The loan would be the third this year made by Bank of China on Manhattan office buildings.