Greenland Group Said in Talks to Buy HK’s Hsin Chong and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Shanghai’s largest developer may be expanding its Hong Kong presence with the purchase of one of the SAR’s oldest construction companies. Also in the news today, the Beijing government seems committed to upping the housing supply in China’s capital and 31 developers show interest in a site next to a light rail station in Kowloon. Keep reading for all the details on these stories and more.

Greenland Group Said in Talks to Buy HK’s Hsin Chong

A construction company mostly owned by the Shanghai municipal government is in talks to take over control of one of Hong Kong’s oldest builders, using the listing status of Hsin Chong Group Holdings as the platform for fundraising and for bidding for infrastructure work along China’s belt and road project.

Greenland Holdings, 46.4 per cent owned by the Shanghai government, is in discussions to take over 100 per cent of Hsin Chong Construction Group, as well as the majority stake of its listed parent Hsin Chong Group Holdings, according to two people familiar with the negotiations, declining to divulge the value of the deal. Read more>>

Beijing to Test Developer Demand With 66 Land Sales

Beijing’s property industry is likely to face a glut as the government plans to sell more land sites that will offer at least two times the developable area available this year, an amount which could take the market two years to soak up.

The city’s land commission revealed that it will offer 66 plots that can be developed into 9.3 million square metres of gross floor area in the “near term” last Wednesday, weighing further on developers’ waning interest to buy land amid a sluggish market brought about by tightened credit and measures to control home prices. Of the 66 sites, 34 are for residential properties and the remaining 32 are for residential and commercial use. Read more>>

MTR Gets 31 Expressions of Interest for Kowloon Site

MTR Corporation Ltd (0066) yesterday received 31 expressions of interest for the second phase of a project atop Ho Man Tin MTR Station, which will provide about 900 to 1,000 residential units.

Kerry Properties (0683), Wheelock Properties, and Nan Fung Group are among Hong Kong developers that submitted the expressions of interest, while mainland developers who did so included China Overseas Land and Investment (0688), Longfor Properties (0960), and CITIC Pacific Properties. Read more>>

China Home Prices Growth Pushed to Smaller Cities Amid Clampdown

China’s home prices accelerated last month at the fastest pace in nearly two years, a sign that Beijing’s efforts to boost a slowing economy may once again be heating up frothy real estate markets.

While solid growth in the sector could cushion the impact of a vigorous multi-year government crackdown on debt and escalating trade tensions with the United States, it could also stoke fears of a bubble. Read more>>

Head of Ping An US Real Estate Leaves for New Role

Rick Singer, the former chief executive officer of Chinese insurer Ping An’s U.S. real estate venture, has joined Winter Properties as president.

Singer starts this month at Winter, a New York-based real estate investment, management and development company that’s a related business of Standard Industries and backed by its founders. “Rick’s background and leadership will give us the ability to accelerate the execution of our strategy,” Winter Properties Co-CEO David Winter said in a statement to Bloomberg. Read more>>

Kailong Plans Co-Working for Eight HK Commercial Projects

Kailong, a Shanghai-based real estate investment management company backed by US private equity fund Warburg Pincus, is planning to include a co-working element at all eight of its commercial properties in Hong Kong to boost returns.

The strategy shift comes in the wake of a growing demand for such spaces, after a successful experience in the city by other companies, such as New York-based WeWork. “We will upgrade buildings to fit with the demand for shared offices,” said Ivan Ho, Kailong’s chief executive for its Hong Kong office. Read more>>

Gammon Wins New Territories Road Project

Gammon, the 50:50 JV between Balfour and Hong-Kong based Jardine Matheson, will team up with Sanfield for the Sai Sha road scheme in Sai Kung, Hong Kong.

Jardin Matheson is a global multi-discipline company that has a contracting and property development arm. Development company Sun Hung Kai Properties awarded the contract, which will widen the highway from a two-lane to a four-lane road. Read more>>

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