China South City co-chair Cheng Chung Hing
A reminder of the ongoing struggles of Chinese developers leads today’s list of real estate headlines from around the region as a Hong Kong court approves the liquidation of a Shenzhen developer, with little hope for creditors to recover their cash. Also making the list is a look at HSBC’s loans on local commercial properties and the latest round of bargaining for a Brisbane casino.
Court Orders China South City Wound Up, Bleak Outlook for Creditors
Developer China South City Holdings Ltd. was ordered to liquidate by Hong Kong’s High Court, making it the biggest Chinese builder by assets to be wound up since China Evergrande Group.
The ruling from Judge Linda Chan came after the liquidation petitioner asked for an immediate wind-up order. China South City asked the court for “one final chance,” but Chan said that no significant progress had been made on the company’s restructuring proposal. Read more>>
HSBC Flags 75% of Hong Kong Commercial Property Loans as Risky
Almost three-quarters of HSBC’s Hong Kong commercial property loan book was flashing warning signs by the end of June, as a prolonged slump in retail spending and sluggish demand for office space weigh on Europe’s largest bank.
HSBC is Hong Kong’s largest lender and the territory is the single largest source of income for the bank by geography. HSBC has made $32 billion of commercial real estate loans in the territory, out of a $234 billion Hong Kong loanbook. Read more>>
Chow Tai Fook, FEC Back in Talks to Buy Brisbane Casino
The sale of Star Entertainment Group’s Queen’s Wharf precinct to its Hong Kong investment partners is back on track, getting the company off the hook from a potential slug from $1.4 billion of debt associated with the Brisbane development.
Talks were quietly resurrected after a deal between Star and its two Asian backers – Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium – appeared to collapse earlier this month. Read more>>
Swire Properties Buys Out Parent Firm’s Stake in Miami Project for $37M
Swire Properties announced to the Hong Kong stock exchange late last week that it has acquired a 25 percent stake in a Miami project from its ultimate parent firm, giving it full ownership of the residential and hospitality property.
John Swire and Sons Ltd, the holding company of the Swire family behind Swire Pacific and Swire Properties, sold the shares in the Residences at Mandarin Oriental project in Miami’s Brickell area, with Swire Properties pointing to a positive outlook for the local market. Read more>>
CapitaLand Ascendas REIT Completes $354M Purchase of Singapore Data Centre
CapitaLand Ascendas REIT said late on Monday that it has completed its acquisition of a data centre at 9 Tai Seng Drive in Singapore’s Hougang area for S$455.2 million ($354 million).
The CapitaLand Investment-managed REIT had agreed to buy the Tier 3 data centre from CapitaLand Ltd, the ultimate parent firm of CapitaLand Ascendas REIT’s manager in May of this year. Read more>>
Seoul Mayor Orders Review of Measures to Restrict Home Purchases by Foreigners
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Monday ordered city officials to review potential regulations and monitoring measures on purchases of high-priced real estate by foreign nationals who do not reside in the property.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Oh directed relevant departments to examine how major countries, including the United States, Australia, Singapore and Canada, regulate and monitor foreign purchases of housing for non-residential purposes. Read more>>
Keppel DC REIT Manager Proposes Disposal of M1 Bonds, Shares
The manager of Keppel DC Real Estate Investment Trust on Monday proposed the disposal of all its NetCo bonds and preference shares issued by network operator M1.
This comes after parent company Keppel announced that it will sell M1’s telco business to Simba Telecom, a mobile network operator, for S$1.43 billion ($1.1 billion). Keppel will receive nearly S$1 billion for its 83.9 percent effective stake in M1. Read more>>
Warburg Pincus Exits India’s Home First Finance
Private equity firm Warburg Pincus has fully exited its portfolio company Home First Finance, launching a block deal to sell its stake worth $143 million at the lower end of the price range, multiple industry sources told Moneycontrol on condition of anonymity.
Orange Clove Investments, a Warburg Pincus entity, on Monday sold its entire 10.3 per cent stake in Home First Finance with buyers including Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund, Fidelity Funds, and Tata AIG General Insurance. Read more>>
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