James Packer might be a bit tense as his team heads to court
Court dates and innovation dominate today’s real estate headlines. Billionaire James Packer finds his staff headed to trial on gambling charges in China, while the owners of developers Great Eagle and Shui On will be asking a judge to help resolve their family tussle. And while Shenzhen mines new technology on the Hong Kong border, government officials show China’s true innovation capacity with new bonds to cover fake land deals and dodgy book-keeping. Read on for all these stories and more.
China Charging Crown Staff With Promoting Gambling
The 14 Crown Resorts staff detained in China, including three Australians, could come before a court by the end of this month, after their case left the Prosecutors office over the weekend.
The casino group controlled by James Packer is expected to issue a statement to the ASX shortly saying the staff will be charged with the “promotion of gambling”. Read more>>
Did $1 Bil Loss Win Evergrande a Shenzhen Listing?
It shouldn’t be cause for celebration when a property developer takes a $1 billion loss on a stock bet. For an over-indebted, monstrously large Chinese property developer, it appears to be a sacrifice worth making.
China Evergrande, the country’s biggest developer by assets, sold its 14% stake in rival China Vanke to Shenzhen Metro Group on Friday at a discount to market price. Read more>>
Hong Kong’s Lo Family Takes Feud to Court
The family feud over property giant Great Eagle Holdings intensified on Monday as the youngest son fired back at his brothers ahead of a legal battle with HSBC International Trustee slated to get under way on Tuesday.
Lo Kai-shui, the youngest sibling of one of Hong Kong’s wealthiest real estate clans, reaffirmed his position in support of his mother to remove HSBC as the trust manager of the largest percentage share of the family business. Read more>>
87 Hectare Tech Park Planned on HK-Shenzhen Border
It’s the story of an obscure fishing community that was afforded special trading status and grew to become one of the world’s most vibrant economic centers.
Then came competition. Just upriver, an even more obscure fishing community was afforded special trading status and soon grew to become one of the world’s most vibrant economic centers. Read more>>
Logan Properties Plans More SG Projects
HONG Kong-listed Chinese developer Logan Property, which recently jointly placed a record bid of over S$1 billion for a Stirling Road residential plot, is eyeing more commercial and residential projects in Singapore amid tightening measures against developers in the mainland.
Logan Property, together with Chinese conglomerate Nanshan Group, was last month awarded the tender for the large 99-year-leasehold Stirling Road site after putting in a joint bid of S$1,050.7 per square foot per plot ratio on gross floor area. Read more>>
Chinese Developers Discover the True Value of Decoration
Several local governments have begun allowing some leeway in a popular practice among builders who compensate for their profit shortfalls through so-called decoration contracts, which have been the target of recent crackdowns.
Decoration contracts are side agreements that real estate developers began making with homebuyers after city governments — seeking to contain housing bubbles — imposed price limits on property sales. Read more>>
Chinese Bonds to Cover Fake Land Deals and Embezzlement
China will roll out local land reserve bonds this year to further standardize local governments’ financing behaviors, an official statement said Thursday.
By issuing the bonds, authorities will be able to plug leaks in the system of local financing platforms such as fake land transactions and land reserve capital embezzlement, according to officials with the ministries. Read more>>
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