A Nexus Select Trust mall in Bengaluru (Image: Nexus)
Some profit-taking in India leads today’s collection of real estate headlines from around Asia, as Blackstone more halves its stake in Nexus Select Trust. Also making the list is set of good news for mainland developers as a pair of builders win more time to restructure debts at the same time that Logan and KWG refinance a Hong Kong project.
Blackstone Sells Stake in India REIT for $542M
Global investment firm Blackstone sold 330 million units in its REIT firm ‘Nexus Select Trust’ for around INR 45.5 billion ($542 million) through a block deal on stock exchanges on Friday, August 9, as part of a strategy to monetise its real estate portfolio. Prior to the transaction Blackstone held a 43 percent stake in Nexus Select Trust, India’s first real estate investment trust (REIT) backed by retail properties, with the deal reducing that holding to 21 percent.
So far, Blackstone has sponsored three REITs in India, including Embassy Office Parks REIT, MindspaceREIT, and Nexus Select Trust. The latter got listed on exchanges last year after raising over INR 30 billion through public issues. Read more>>
China’s Kaisa, Times Win Reprieves on Wind-Up Cases
Troubled Chinese developers Kaisa Group and Times China Holdings, which defaulted on a combined $15 billion of offshore debts, have been granted more time to negotiate with creditors as the city’s High Court on Monday ordered adjournments in their winding-up hearings.
Shenzhen-based Kaisa Group got a four-week reprieve after Justice Anthony Chan adjourned the case to September 9. The company will announce a debt workout plan before the next hearing, Lai Ling Tam, senior advisor for the Kaisa Group, said outside the court after the hearing. Read more>>
Chinese Developers Logan, KWG Refinance $1B in Debt on Hong Kong Project
Distressed Chinese developers Logan Group and KWG Group Holdings have secured a private loan to refinance a facility of over $1 billion that’s backed by luxury real estate in Hong Kong, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The borrowing, arranged by JPMorgan Chase, was signed late Saturday (Aug 10) evening, according to the sources who asked not to be named discussing private matters. The luxury real estate project behind the facility is The Corniche and the original HK$10.2 billion loan was set to mature on Aug 25, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Read more>>
Hindenburg Widens Accusations Against India’s Adani to Include Blackstone
In a report published Saturday, Hindenburg said the head of India’s securities regulator, Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband, Dhaval Buch, invested in offshore entities that were allegedly part of a fund structure in which Vinod Adani — the brother of billionaire Gautam Adani — also had investments.
Hindenburg also raised questions about Madhabi promoting real estate investment trusts as a promising asset class without disclosing that Dhaval is now an adviser to Blackstone Inc., which has sponsored two of the four listed REITs in India. Dhaval has been a senior adviser to Blackstone Private Equity since 2019, before Madhabi became Sebi’s chair. Read more>>
China’s Central Bank Underlines Commitment to Rental Housing Sector
In a quarterly report issued late last week the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) restated the government’s commitment to developing a rental housing industry as a means of assuring affordable homes and a stable market.
PBOC officials pointed out that by the end of June, Chinese financial institutions had issued RMB 24.7 billion yuan ($3.46 billion) in loans to to the rental housing industry, including RMB 12.1 billion supported by a government-subsidized housing re-lending facility. Read more>>
Evergrande Shares to Stay Suspended as Restructuring Drags On
Trading of China Evergrande Group’s shares will remain suspended, as the collapsed developer’s liquidators see no path to a restructuring owing to the firm’s massive debt and various business challenges.
“In the absence of substantial new investment into the company, the liquidators do not currently see a path to a restructuring that would enable the company to satisfy the resumption guidance and a resumption of trading in the shares,” the liquidators said in a filing on Friday to the Hong Kong stock exchange. Read more>>
SGX-Listed Daiwa House Logistics Trust Reports 6.1% Drop in Distributions
Distribution per unit of Daiwa House Logistics Trust for the first half of fiscal year 2024 fell 6.1 percent year on year to S$0.0245 from S$0.0261.
The manager of the trust on Monday (Aug 12) also posted H1 revenue of S$27.6 million ($20.8 million), down 10.7 percent from S$30.9 million. Net property income (NPI) decreased 8.2 percent to S$21.2 million from S$23.1 million. Read more>>
Kobe Mayor Bans High Rise Residential Development in City’s South Side
The “tower mansions,” or high-rise apartments in Kobe’s Sannomiya district, are nearly finished. They will also be the last of their kind, as the city has effectively banned the construction of such buildings.
Located in one of Kansai’s busiest downtown areas, Sumitomo Realty & Development Co.’s two 27-story buildings have panoramic views of the port city’s renowned “10-million-dollar nightscape.” Read more>>
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