H&M, Nike and other western brands may have hurt the feelings of the Chinese people
In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, China strikes back at Western apparel brands over their allegations of forced labour in Xinjiang, mainland developers report slimmed-down debt levels in their annual results, and the country’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund reportedly reshuffles its management team.
China Boycotts Western Brands Over Xinjiang Sanctions
H&M, Nike and other big Western apparel brands are facing a boycott in China because of the stand they’ve taken against the alleged use of forced labour to produce cotton in the country’s western region of Xinjiang.
H&M and Nike said months ago that they were concerned about allegations of forced labour being used to produce cotton in Xinjiang, but they’ve now been caught in an escalating firestorm that has erupted on Chinese social media this week. Read more>>
Country Garden, R&F Show Slimmed Debt Levels in 2020 Reports
Major Chinese property developers have slimmed down their debt levels by spending less on land acquisition and speeding up sales to meet government limits on borrowing, according to annual result filings.
Country Garden Holdings, China’s second-largest developer by sales, had cut debt by RMB 43.1 billion ($6.6 billion) to RMB 326.5 billion last year, according to its annual results filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday. Read more>>
China’s CIC Rejigs Leadership
China’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund shuffled some leadership roles, including in asset allocation, following a revamp of its investment decision-making committees, according to people familiar with the matter.
China Investment Corp has appointed Li Tao as head of its asset allocation department, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing internal matters. Liu Fangyu succeeds Li as president of CIC’s Hong Kong unit, the people said. Read more>>
Co-Living Startup Hmlet Abandons Foray into Malaysia, Thailand
Hmlet’s attempt to be a part of the property landscape in Malaysia and Thailand could be over. The co-living startup appears to have abandoned its ill-fated expansion into the two countries less than six months after its launch, as it grapples with a crippling pandemic and nagging questions about its future.
A check on the company’s website on Friday showed that property listings in both countries have been taken down. In September last year, former chief executive and co-founder Yoan Kamalski told The Business Times that Hmlet had more than 1,000 apartments listed on its platform in Malaysia, and over 2,500 in Thailand. Read more>>
CDL ‘Confident’ About Attaining Master-Developer Status
City Developments Ltd has set its sights on becoming a master developer in Singapore, even as it focuses on replenishing its land bank to ensure a stable launch pipeline.
The property group, which builds up its land bank by taking part in collective-sale tenders and the government land sales programme, aims to be the one developer picked to plan and build an entire precinct or district instead of individual, smaller parcels. Read more>>
Objection Delays Soilbuild REIT Hearing to 30 March
The court hearing on the application to sanction Soilbuild REIT’s trust scheme of arrangement has been adjourned to the morning of 30 March.
This came after a Soilbuild REIT unitholder opposed the trust scheme sanction application on the ground that the “one-proxy rule”, which allows for the appointment of only one proxy per unitholder, should not have been used for the trust scheme meeting. Read more>>
Evergrande EV Unit Unveils Plan for 1,600 China Dealerships
Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group, the car-making arm of mainland property developer China Evergrande Group, unveiled a plan to build 1,600 dealerships across the country during an earnings call on Thursday.
The company reported that its net loss for the full year of 2020 had widened to RMB 7.7 billion ($1.2 billion) from RMB 4.9 billion a year earlier, amid heavy investment in the development of new car models. It, however, said its revenue had surged by 175 percent to RMB 15.5 billion. Read more>>
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