Hong Kong property developer Wharf announced today that it would be raising the size of its bond offering to US$600 million to meet demand from buyers. The bond deal, which was first announced on January 30th, met with overwhelming response from fund managers and banks, who seemed to have maintained their taste for China’s real estate market.
Wharf specialises in retail, office and hotel real estate in Hong Kong and mainland China, and its prime real estate in Hong Kong includes Harbour City and Times Square. Those two assets alone contribute 64% of its operating profit, according to published reports.
Originally, Wharf intended to make an offering of US$300-400 million, but according to a report in Finance Asia,
The deal size was expected to be $300 million to $400 million but was upsized to $600 million, after attracting demand of $4.25 billion from 296 accounts. Asian investors were allocated 73% and the rest went to European investors.
As the real estate subsidiary of Wheelock and Company Ltd and a descendant of the traditional Hong Kong trading houses, Wharf owns Marco Polo Hotels, as well as numerous commercial properties in Hong Kong and on the mainland, including Times Square on Huaihai Lu, and Wheelock Square on Nanjing Lu in Shanghai.
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