Raymond Kwok’s Sun Hung Kai may have a tough year
In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, a pair of Hong Kong property giants report profit declines, Singapore’s CapitaLand eyes an industrial project in Vietnam, and Jingrui becomes the latest Chinese developer to request debt payment extensions.
SHKP, Hysan Post Declining Profits, Say More Challenges Ahead
Two of Hong Kong’s biggest property developers and retail landlords have posted declining results and foresee more challenges ahead, as the city’s social distancing rules keep consumers away from shopping centres.
Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), which owns neighbourhood shopping centres New Town Plaza and Yoho Mall in Sha Tin and Yuen Long, two districts with the highest number of COVID-19 cases, said its interim core profit fell 15 percent year-on-year to HK$14.8 billion ($1.9 billion) in the six months that ended in December. The decrease was mainly due to lower sales completion at residential projects, SHKP said. Read more>>
CapitaLand Development in MOU for S$1.3B VN Industrial Township
CapitaLand Development on Friday announced that it has inked a memorandum of understanding to explore the development of an industrial park, logistics park and township development in Vietnam, with a total projected investment value of S$1.3 billion ($960 million).
Under the MOU, CapitaLand will partner with the People’s Committee of Bac Giang province to evaluate several greenfield sites totalling over 400 hectares (988.4 acres) across the province. This includes a township development along the Cau River, as well as several industrial parks and logistics assets near Viet Yen district. Read more>>
CapitaLand Investment Posts H2 Profit of $477M
Even as it maintains global ambitions, CapitaLand Investment will largely focus on Asia over the next five years because of opportunities here and the group’s track record and capabilities in the region.
Speaking at an earnings briefing on Friday morning, group chief executive Lee Chee Koon highlighted “more interesting opportunities emerging in China”. “The playing field has become a lot more level,” he went on to say, referring to the ability to gain access to projects, especially as some local players may not have the kind of access to financing that they have had in the past. Read more>>
Jingrui Joins China’s Distressed Developer Crowd
The number of Chinese developers seeking debt forbearance from offshore creditors is expanding as Zhenro Properties and Jingrui Properties call attention to an ongoing credit crunch amid the worst industry slowdown in a decade.
The two developers this week sought to delay repayments on dollar-denominated bonds worth $1.2 billion maturing this year, citing a liquidity squeeze. They are also asking bondholders to waive some default clauses on $3.5 billion worth of notes, weakening their covenants. Read more>>
CDL Swings Into the Black With S$129.7M Profit in H2
Property developer City Developments Ltd swung into the black with a net profit of S$129.7 million (now $95.8 million) for its second half ended 31 December 2021, compared with a net loss of S$1.92 billion a year earlier.
The company saw its hotel operations segment return to profitability in the half-year period, and it also expects an imminent rebound in the hospitality sector, according to a bourse filing on Friday. Read more>>
Hong Kong Home Prices at 11-Month Low on New COVID Surge
Hong Kong private home prices dropped for the fourth consecutive month in January to the lowest since February 2021, official data showed on Thursday, as the financial hub was hit by a new wave of COVID-19 cases.
The prices eased 1.1 percent last month compared with a revised decline of 0.1 percent in December. The January monthly drop was also the biggest in 11 months. Read more>>
Hong Kong Bans Nanoflats With 280 Sq Ft Minimum Home Size
All private homes to be built in Hong Kong will have to be at least 280 square feet (26 square metres), the government has announced, unless in rare cases when developers face site constraints or dated leases that may not be subject to the new rule.
The minimum size requirement in the private sector will cover all government land sales, railway property projects, homes built by the Urban Renewal Authority and redevelopment projects by developers. Read more>>
China Crackdown Leaves Bond Investors With Few Places to Hide
Losses in Chinese debt markets are spreading beyond the battered real estate sector, sending the nation’s investment-grade bonds to a 21-month low as creditors grow increasingly wary of blue-chip borrowers including Alibaba Group.
Renewed concerns about the Chinese government’s crackdown on tech companies are compounding worries about everything from rising US rates to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and weak consumer spending. Read more>>
Tune in again soon for more real estate news and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.
Leave a Reply