BlackRock chairman and CEO Larry Fink is trimming the ranks
Global investment behemoth BlackRock leads Mingtiandi’s real estate headlines today with its plan to dismiss 3 percent of its global workforce. Also making the news, distressed Chinese developer Shanghai Shimao has defaulted on two more sets of notes and South Korea’s credit market is putting up a strong defense against builder Taeyoung’s financial troubles.
BlackRock Cuts 3% of Global Staff Citing Industry Changes
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, will lay off about 600 employees as it seeks to reshuffle its resources in response to technological changes in the financial industry.
“We see our industry changing faster than at any time since the founding of BlackRock,” wrote CEO Larry Fink and President Rob Kapito in an internal memo reviewed by CNN. “As we prepare for 2024 and this very exciting but distinctly different landscape, businesses across the firm have developed plans to reallocate resources.” Read more>>
China Developer Shimao Defaults on $68M in Debt
Chinese property developer Shanghai Shimao Co announced Wednesday via a stock exchange filing that it has defaulted on debts totalling RMB 483 million ($68 million).
It has failed to make payments on three of its notes, namely ‘21 Shanghai Shimao MTN001’, ‘21 Hu Shimao MTN002’ and ‘20 Shanghai Shimao MTN001’. Additionally, the company and its subsidiaries’ public market debts have climbed up to RMB 2.652 billion, and have not been paid as scheduled. Shimao has cited its continued sales slump since 2022 as the primary reason for its defaults. Read more>>
Singapore Data Centre Operator STTGDC Issues $338M in Green Bonds
ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) announced Wednesday that on 8 January it issued S$450 million ($338 million) of Sustainability-Linked Perpetual (SLP) securities under the company’s S$1.5 billion multicurrency debt issuance programme.
The SLP has been priced at 5.7 percent after its book building process. Net proceeds from the SLP will be used for refinancing of existing borrowings and financing of investments, acquisitions, general working capital and/or capital expenditure of the company and its subsidiaries. Read more>>
South Korea Credit Market Withstands Builder’s Debt Woes
South Korea’s credit market is showing signs of stability less than two weeks after officials pledged to expand a $66 billion programme if needed to limit the fallout from a builder’s debt woes, analysts said, but added that it was still early days.
An announcement by Taeyoung Engineering & Construction, the country’s 16th largest builder, on 28 December to reschedule its debt has fuelled concerns about a credit crunch in money markets, as many real estate projects rely on the short-term debt market to finance construction projects. Read more>>
Flats in Hong Kong’s Hung Shui Kiu Offered at 18% Discount
The latest batch of flats at a new project in the residential district of Hung Shui Kiu is being offered at prices that are 18 percent lower than six months ago while prices at Mei Foo Sun Chuen also fell further in the secondary market.
High Park I in Hung Shui Kiu, developed by Asia Standard International, released the third price list yesterday, offering 63 flats with the cheapest priced at HK$3.4 million ($434,910). Read more>>
Hong Kong’s Smaller Developers Steal March on Big Guns With Discounted Flats
The developers of smaller residential projects in Hong Kong are hastening sales by offering discounts before the Lunar New Year holiday, with the aim of increasing their market share before larger projects are launched later in the year.
Lofter Group, a local developer that was established in 2012 and focuses on urban renewal projects across core districts, launched Elize Park in Mong Kok East on Tuesday. Read more>>
American Offices in ‘Uncharted Territory’ as Vacancy Hits All-Time High
America’s offices are trending in the wrong direction, even as the broader US economy looks to be on solid footing.
According to a report from Moody’s Analytics, which described the US office market as being in “uncharted territory” in a report on Monday, the national office vacancy rate climbed 40 basis points last quarter to a record-breaking 19.6 percent. Read more>>
Private Equity Investment in Indian Real Estate Declines 26%
Private equity investments in Indian real estate registered a decline of approximately 26 percent in the last three quarters of 2023 as both foreign and domestic investors reported lower activity.
Activity from foreign investors remained subdued for most of this period due to global geopolitical uncertainties and a high interest rate environment, finds Anarock Capital’s flux report for the period of April through December 2023. Read more>>
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