Evergrande boss Xu Jiayin continues to seek a meeting of minds with bondholders (Getty Images)
In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, China Evergrande struggles to win creditor support for a debt restructuring framework ahead of a self-imposed March deadline, and HSBC’s move towards open-plan desks irks Hong Kong bankers.
Evergrande Fails to Win Creditors’ Support as Key Dates Loom
China Evergrande, the developer at the epicentre of the country’s real estate crisis, has yet to reach an agreement with major creditors on a debt restructuring framework crucial to avoiding potential court-ordered asset liquidation, people familiar with the matter said.
There is still no deal with an ad hoc group of dollar bondholders, according to the people, who asked not to be identified speaking about a private matter. The clock is ticking. Evergrande has said it wanted to get support from the noteholders by early March, and it faces a 20 March court hearing in Hong Kong on a winding-up petition. Read more>>
HSBC Riles Hong Kong Bankers With Plan to End Private Offices
Senior investment bankers at HSBC in Hong Kong could lose their private offices as the firm moves towards open-plan desks for the financial hub, causing angst among some executives who’ve complained about potential confidentiality risks.
The investment banking division isn’t being singled out and the plan is in line with a broader move across the company, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Still, some bankers have warned that scrapping private offices may raise issues around privacy as senior executives often discuss sensitive information with clients. Read more>>
PwC Steps Down as Auditor of Agile Property Management Unit
A-Living Smart City Services, a property management unit of Chinese developer Agile Property Holdings, said Monday that PricewaterhouseCoopers has resigned as the company’s auditor.
In a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange, A-Living said it has opened a dialogue with Grant Thornton as a potential successor to PwC. The announcement came just over one month after PwC had resigned from its role as auditor of embattled mainland developer China Evergrande Group. Read more>>
Jinmao Warns of 60% Profit Plunge for Full-Year 2022
China Jinmao Holdings expects to record a decrease of between 50 and 60 percent in profit attributable to owners of the parent for the year ended 31 December 2022, according to a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Jinmao will also record a decrease of 70 to 85 percent in the profit attributable to owners of the parent (excluding fair value gains on investment properties) for the full year. The decrease is mainly attributable to the lower-than-expected selling prices of the projects of the mainland builder and some of its associates and joint ventures. Read more>>
China New Home Sales Up Sharply in February
China’s new home sales rose sharply in February from a slump in the previous month, buoyed by a rise in demand in small and medium-sized cities after the scrapping of COVID curbs and supportive property policies, a private survey showed on Monday.
New home sales by floor area in 16 selected Chinese cities rose 31.9 percent in February, compared with a fall of 34.3 percent in January, according to China Index Academy. Read more>>
Singapore Condo, HDB Rents Continued to Climb in January
Condominium and Housing and Development Board rental prices continued to rise in January, according to flash estimates from SRX and 99.co released Tuesday.
Rents for the condo market climbed 1.4 percent from December, the lowest increase in the past 11 months. Growth was led by a 1.8 percent increase in the Core Central Region, while rentals for the Rest of Central Region and Outside Central Region rose by 1.7 and 0.8 percent, respectively. Read more>>
Apartment Rents in Greater Tokyo Increase for Third Month
The average monthly rent of a condominium-type apartment across Greater Tokyo in January was JPY 3,391 (now $24.80) per square metre, up 1.6 percent from the previous month and the third month in a row to see a monthly increase.
This was primarily due to a larger share of listings in the Tokyo metropolitan area, where rents are higher than in the surrounding prefectures. Read more>>
Citic Pacific’s Latest Commercial Complex to Open in Shanghai in July
Chinese developer Citic Pacific Properties, which has built a number of landmark buildings in Shanghai, has developed another megaproject in the metropolis that will open to the public on 28 July.
The T Center, which is located in downtown Putuo district close to the Meiling North Road subway station on Line 15, boasts five office towers, two of which are particularly tall with heights of 180 and 170 metres (591 and 558 feet), a retail centre and a hotel, Yicai Global learned at a press conference on 24 February. Read more>>
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