Shimao and China SCE in Default on Trust Payments and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, mainland developer Shimao adds some missed payments on trust borrowings to its default sheet, while compatriots Evergrande and Kaisa see their ratings withdrawn by Moody’s.

Shimao, China SCE Default on $225M in Trust Payments

The main units of Shimao Group Holdings and China SCE Group Holdings missed payments on RMB 1.6 billion ($225 million) of trust borrowings, adding to a string of defaults by Chinese developers as the industry’s liquidity crunch spreads.

Xiamen Zhongjun Industrial Co, a unit of SCE and one of the guarantors, failed to repay its 50 percent share of a trust product that was due at the end of September, according to documents sent by the issuer Everbright Trust Co to the product distributor that were seen by Bloomberg News. Xiamen Zhongjun and Shanghai Shimao Jianshe Co, the other guarantor, both had their bank accounts frozen by a court after Everbright Trust sued them to seize assets, the documents showed. Read more>>

Moody’s Withdraws Ratings for Evergrande, Kaisa

Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday withdrew China Evergrande Group’s corporate family rating and senior unsecured ratings, the CFRs of Hengda Real Estate Group Co Ltd and Tianji Holding Ltd, and Scenery Journey Ltd’s backed senior unsecured ratings.

The rating agency also withdrew Kaisa Group Holdings’ Ca corporate family rating and its C senior unsecured ratings. Read more>>

Singapore Condo Resale Prices Up 1.7% in September

Condominium resale prices in Singapore rose for the 26th straight month in September, increasing by 1.7 percent on the previous month and 11.1 percent year-on-year.

According to flash figures from SRX and 99.co published Tuesday, prices for the outside central region rose the most from the previous month at 2.2 percent. Read more>>

Hong Kong Property Market Tumbling as Unsold Homes Pile Up

On a recent Saturday, more than 100 salespeople swarmed the floors of a luxury shopping mall in Hong Kong, haranguing shoppers to check out deals at one of the city’s latest residential projects.

One Innovale-Bellevue, built by Henderson Land Development, priced its first batch of apartments 9 percent lower than the nearby second-hand homes in New Territories, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the central financial district. But the response has been below par since its launch last month, with about a third remaining unsold as at the first week of October. Read more>>

Suzhou Govt Sends Signal With Doubled New Home Sales in September

New home transactions in downtown Suzhou in eastern China doubled in September as the government aims to improve the investing landscape.

About 1.2 million square metres (12.9 million square feet) of freshly finished homes were sold in Suzhou last month, rising nearly twofold from August, according to data disclosed by the local arm of real estate information agency CRIC. Read more>>

China Sticks Philippines on Tourist Blacklist Over Offshore Gambling

China has added the Philippines to its blacklist of tourist destinations due to illegal activities linked to the offshore gambling industry, a senator said, citing Beijing’s envoy to Manila Huang Xilian.

The sector emerged in the Philippines in 2016 and grew exponentially, as operators capitalised on the country’s liberal gaming laws to target customers in China, where gambling is banned. Read more>>

Hong Kong Stocks Hit 11-Year Lows After China Backs Zero-COVID Policy

Hong Kong’s benchmark index on Tuesday fell below 17,000 points for the first time in 11 years, after China’s vow to stick to its zero-COVID policy added to slowdown concerns amid heightened US tech crackdowns and aggressive overseas rate hikes.

China stocks, meanwhile, edged up after a four-session losing streak, lifted by new energy shares as industry players expect robust third-quarter earnings. Read more>>

China Property Crisis Spoils Communist Party’s Moment of Triumph

As China’s Communist party congress meets this weekend to celebrate its achievements over the past five years, economists will be watching for how Beijing plans to confront its most momentous economic challenge.

A crisis in China’s real estate sector has been gaining momentum since Evergrande, one of the country’s largest property developers and the world’s most indebted, failed to make bond payments last year. Read more>>

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