The freeze seems to be over for China’s residential development funds (Getty Images)
In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, Chinese officials reportedly authorise private equity funds to raise money for residential developments, and Beijing is said to be readying new measures to prop up the country’s biggest builders.
China Resumes Residential Real Estate Funds in Further Support
China resumed approvals for private equity funds to raise money for residential property developments, one of the latest moves to boost the country’s real estate sector as the downturn persists.
The Asset Management Association of China recently started allowing private equity funds to register such investment products, the people familiar said, requesting not to be named as the matter is private. AMAC, supervised by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, halted approvals in 2021, Bloomberg reported then. Read more>>
Beijing Weighs Measures to Shore Up ‘Too-Big-to-Fail’ Developers
Chinese authorities are planning to usher in further support measures to ease liquidity stress at some of the nation’s too-big-to-fail developers as the property downturn persists, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Financial Stability and Development Committee told the banking and securities regulators late last week to help shore up the balance sheets of some “systemically important” developers, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. In order to be eligible, firms need to receive “unqualified” auditing reviews to show they have reliable financial statements and have no record of major violations including defaulting on publicly issued debt, the people said. Read more>>
Tender Sale of Evergrande’s Hong Kong HQ Fails Again: Sources
A tender for the sale of embattled China Evergrande’s headquarters in Hong Kong has lapsed again, two sources with knowledge of the matter said Tuesday, because the offer prices and terms fell short of requirements.
Lenders to the office tower, China Evergrande Centre, valued at between HK$8 billion and HK$9 billion ($1.02 billion and $1.15 billion), appointed a receiver in September to seize the asset and tender it for sale with a bid deadline of 31 October. Read more>>
Chengdu Developer Forced to Sack 90% of Workers in Bid to Survive
After a sweeping two-year crackdown on its debt-ridden property developers, China’s recent moves to shore up the sector are bringing some respite. But a slew of smaller builders are still struggling for survival.
A case in point is Sichuan Languang Development, a builder of residential buildings and offices based in the southwestern city of Chengdu. Languang has slashed about 90 percent of its workforce since early 2021 and reported an accrued loss of RMB 11.7 billion ($1.7 billion) as of the third quarter last year. Read more>>
Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital to Undergo $261M Refurbishment
Mount Elizabeth Hospital, located in Singapore’s Orchard Road area, will undergo a S$350 million ($261.4 million) refurbishment that will see the private healthcare facility extensively retrofitted and upgraded.
The project will be jointly conducted and funded by IHH Healthcare Singapore and Parkway Life REIT. Dubbed “Project Renaissance”, the refurbishment will take three years and is targeted to transform the hospital into a “modern and integrated multiservice hub”. Read more>>
India’s BK Modi Plans $1B Investment Over 5 Years, Including in Real Estate
BK Modi Group plans to invest about $1 billion over the next five years in Indian real estate and wellness. In an interview with PTI, group founder BK Modi said there is tremendous scope to bring new technologies into both sectors.
“We will be investing around $1 billion over the next five years,” he said when asked about the proposed investment in these new ventures. Read more>>
South Korea to Ease Property Regulations Amid Falling Home Prices
South Korea will lift property-related regulations in most of Seoul and metropolitan areas, as the country’s housing market is at risk of a deep freeze due to strict regulations and higher lending rates, the land ministry said Tuesday.
The government will remove Seoul and its adjacent metropolitan areas from the closely watched speculative districts except for four districts — Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa in southern Seoul and Yongsan in central Seoul — the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, adding that the move will take effect Thursday. Read more>>
Korean NPS to Be in the Red for 2022 With 5.3% Loss in Jan-Oct
South Korea’s National Pension Service, the world’s third-largest such fund, is poised to report an annual loss in 2022 for the first time in four years as the global financial markets tumbled on interest rate hikes of major central banks, especially the US Federal Reserve.
NPS, which managed KRW 915.3 trillion ($724.7 billion) in assets as of 31 October 2022, reported on 30 December that it saw a cumulative loss of 5.29 percent on investment, or KRW 51 trillion, in the first 10 months of last year. That compared with a 7.06 percent loss in the first nine months of last year. Read more>>
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