Paragon REIT in Talks to Sell Singapore Mall for $59M and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Singapore-listed Paragon REIT leads Mingtiandi’s headline roundup today as it aims to sell a mall in the city-state’s Upper Bukit Timah areas for more than $59 million. IGIS Asset Management also makes the news as a fund managed by the South Korean firm defaults on a loan for a German office asset and Chinese developer Poly considers raising as much as $1.7 billion from a convertible bond sale.

Paragon REIT in Advanced Talks to Sell Upper Bukit Timah Mall for $59M

Paragon REIT is in advanced negotiations to sell The Rail Mall in Upper Bukit Timah; the price is understood to be slightly higher than S$80 million ($59.4 million).

The single-storey strip mall, with nearly 50,000 square feet (4,645 square metres) of net lettable area, is on a site sold by the state with a 99-year leasehold tenure from March 1947. This leaves a balance of 21 years and nine months. The property was valued at S$62 million at the end of 2023. Read more>>

IGIS Fund Defaults on Loan Linked to German Office Building

A KRW 370 billion ($270 million) real estate fund managed by IGIS Asset Management faces a heavy loss from its investment in Trianon, a landmark office building in Frankfurt, after it defaulted on loans linked to the skyscraper, the Korean firm said Tuesday.

The special purpose vehicle used to buy the property for KRW 880 billion in 2018 is expected to file for bankruptcy within the next three years, according to the company. Read more>>

Chinese Developer Poly Mulls $1.7B Convertible Bond Sale

Poly Developments and Holdings Group, China’s biggest builder by contracted sales this year, is considering raising as much as RMB 12 billion ($1.7 billion) via a convertible bond sale, according to people familiar with the matter.

The development comes as state-owned Poly has yet to conduct a private placement of shares for which it announced a plan in December 2022. The convertible — debt that can become equity — would be an alternative funding option to that plan and would also be a private placement, the people said, asking not to be identified. Read more>>

Creditors Sue China South City’s Govt Shareholder for $1.4B 

A group of creditors of China South City has filed a lawsuit in Hong Kong against the developer’s biggest state-owned shareholder to recover $1.4 billion, according to a court filing and a source familiar with the matter.

The lawsuit is the first such case against a Chinese state shareholder of a developer for recovery of payments owed to creditors under the keepwell provision since the property sector tipped into a debt crisis in 2021. Read more>>

Hyperscale Operator Princeton Digital Secures $95M Green Loan for Singapore Facility

Princeton Digital Group has secured a $95 million green loan for its SG1 data centre in central Singapore, marking its second such credit facility this year.

The loan is provided by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and Societe Generale, with SMBC acting as sole green loan coordinator, agent and security agent as well as account bank. The loan will refinance SG1’s existing credit facility and will be used for upgrading and expanding the project as well as supporting PDG’s continuing expansion in the region. Read more>>

Singapore’s Temasek Trims Stake in ICBC Amid China Property Slump

Temasek Holdings cut its stake in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China twice in one day last week, reducing its share of the lender to less than 5 percent.

The Singapore state-owned investor first trimmed its allocation in China’s biggest bank by selling 825 million H-shares at an average price of HK$4.70 ($0.60) each on 27 May, taking its stake from 6.01 percent to 5.06 percent, AA Stocks reported Tuesday. Read more>>

Sponsor of SGX-Listed EC World REIT, Chairman Jointly Sued for $11.3M After Default

An application has been filed against Forchn International and the chairman of its parent company for an order that they are jointly and severally liable to pay $11.3 million to Franklin Medici Alternative Investment.

Forchn Holdings Group, the parent company of FIPL, is also the sponsor of EC World REIT. EC World REIT’s manager said Tuesday that it was informed by FIPL on Monday that it had entered into a loan agreement with Franklin Medici Alternative Investment on or about 27 February last year. Read more>>

Hong Kong is Asia’s Busiest ‘Super-Prime’ Housing Market as Removal of Property Curbs Boosts Demand: Knight Frank 

Hong Kong was Asia’s busiest market for homes valued at $10 million and above in the year to March, according to a Knight Frank report.

With 132 transactions between April 2023 and March this year, Hong Kong beat its main rival, Singapore, which recorded 88 deals in what the property consultancy referred to as the super-prime residential market. Deals in Hong Kong’s ultra-luxury housing sector were worth $2.8 billion in the period, while those in Singapore came to $1.2 billion. Read more>>

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