
CFLD’s Wang Wenxue is now the proud owner of the Kissimmee Korners mall
In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, the chairman of beleaguered developer China Fortune Land Development, Wang Wenxue, shakes off his firm’s debt woes with a little retail therapy, acquiring a Florida shopping mall through a private company he controls. Also stateside, the South Dakota Investment Council makes a sizeable commitment to Blackstone’s third opportunistic Asia property fund.
CFLD Boss Buys US Mall as Developer’s Delinquent Debt Hits $14.7B
While Evergrande boss Xu Jiayin has made headlines in recent weeks hocking his personal assets to pay down loans to his cash-strapped company, the chairman of defaulting mainland developer China Fortune Land Development has decided to put his spare cash into buying a US shopping mall.
Local news reports indicate that WWX2 LLC, a private company controlled by CFLD boss Wang Wenxue, recently purchased the Kissimmee Korners shopping centre in Florida’s Orlando area for $14.3 million. Earlier this month, CFLD revealed that it had defaulted on a further $1.2 billion in obligations, bringing its delinquent accounts to $14.7 billion. Read more>>
South Dakota Commits Up to $100M to Blackstone Asia Fund
The South Dakota Investment Council has committed up to $100 million to Blackstone Real Estate Partners Asia III.
Of the commitment, which was reported at the council’s 18 November meeting, up to $90 million was made on behalf of the $14.6 billion South Dakota Retirement System, while up to $4.5 million came from the $726 million Education Enhancement Trust Fund, up to $2.3 million from the $379 million School & Public Lands Fund, up to $2 million from the $379 million Dakota Cement Trust Fund and up to $1.2 million from the $223 million Healthcare Trust Fund. Read more>>
Chinese Estates Continues to Cut Evergrande Stake
Chinese Estates Holdings, a long-time supporter of China Evergrande Group, has further cut its stake in the embattled property developer. The Hong Kong firm, led by CEO Chan Hoi-wan, sold about 270 million Evergrande shares since its last disclosure on 6 October, lowering its stake to 2.36 percent as of last Friday, according to a company filing late Tuesday.
Chinese Estates spent years helping Xu Jiayin raise cash for his empire and at one point had an Evergrande stake of almost 9 percent. But as the developer’s woes worsened, Xu’s backers began heading for the exit and started offloading their holdings in August. Read more>>
Evergrande Block Trades Show Major Holder Sells at 20% Discount
A flurry of large trades in China Evergrande Group on Thursday suggested that a large institutional holder had agreed to a 20 percent discount to offload the stock.
Seven block trades — totalling 300 million shares — crossed before the open of regular cash trading in Hong Kong. The orders were all priced at HK$2.23 ($0.29) per share, indicating they were part of the same block agreement. That compares with Wednesday’s closing price of HK$2.78. Read more>>
Kaisa Offers to Exchange Existing Bonds for New Notes
Chinese developer Kaisa Group on Thursday said it was offering bondholders an option to exchange their existing bonds with new bonds having an extended maturity, in an attempt to improve its financial stability and continue to stay afloat.
The embattled property developer is offering exchange for at least $380 million of the outstanding principal of existing notes, it said in a stock exchange filing. Read more>>
Chengdu Becomes First China City to Ease Loan Rules for Developers
A Chinese city rolled out a series of easing measures to boost liquidity at property developers, becoming the first major local government to address a cash crunch engulfing the real estate industry.
Chengdu, the capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan with a population of about 21 million, will accelerate approvals for home sales and property loans as well as ease restrictions on using proceeds from pre-sales, according to a statement by the local housing authority late Wednesday. Read more>>
Wanda Sets Up Venture to Sell Red Flag Limousines in China
Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group is expanding its foray into the auto sector with the formation of a joint venture that will offer car services such as sales and parking.
Wanda Automobile Technology Services was founded on Monday with registered capital of RMB 100 million ($15.65 million), according to sources close to the group. Tai Qing Beijing Technology, its joint venture partner, is a mainland Chinese firm that offers these services. Read more>>
KIC Sees 11 Alternative Investment Managers Resign This Year
Korea Investment Corporation saw as many as 10 professionals of its alternative investment division resign from the South Korean sovereign wealth fund by September of this year, a report announced by National Assembly member Park Hong-keun showed.
Including Cha Hoon, the former real estate team head who recently left KIC, a total of 11 left the alternative investment division by November. Former private equity team head Jay Huh also left KIC and became private equity head of Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank in April. Read more>>
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