Big Four firm PwC should expect less mainland China business (Getty Images)
In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, Chinese authorities reportedly ask state-owned firms to cut ties with the Big Four accounting firms, and Australian casino giant Star Entertainment looks to raise $545 million to repay debts.
China Urges State Firms to Drop Big Four Auditors on Data Risk
Chinese authorities have urged state-owned firms to phase out using the four biggest international accounting firms, signalling continued concerns about data security even after Beijing reached a landmark deal to allow US audit inspections on hundreds of Chinese firms listed in New York.
China’s Ministry of Finance is among government entities that gave the so-called window guidance to some state-owned enterprises as recently as last month, urging them to let contracts with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, KPMG and Deloitte & Touche expire, according to people familiar with the matter. Read more>>
Australia’s Star Entertainment to Raise $545M to Repay Debts
Chow Tai Fook-linked Star Entertainment Group says it’s raising A$800 million ($545 million) to repay debt and suspend dividend payments.
Regulatory restrictions on its Sydney operations beginning in mid-September, as well as stiff competition from larger rival Crown Resort, which began operating there in August, have reduced profits for Star, Australia’s second-largest casino operator. Read more>>
SHKP, New World Profits Hit by COVID Restrictions
Hong Kong’s Sun Hung Kai Properties and New World Development reported disappointing half-yearly earnings, as their underlying profits were hit by the city’s pandemic restrictions.
SHKP, the city’s biggest developer by market value, posted a 36 percent year-on-year drop in underlying profit to HK$9.47 billion ($1.2 billion) for the six months to December. NWD’s underlying profit fell 14 percent year-on-year to HK$3.36 billion for the same period. Read more>>
Philippines’ GIC-Backed Metro Pacific Hospital Reviving $1B IPO
Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings is considering reviving an initial public offering in Manila, according to people with knowledge of the matter, after shelving its original plan in 2019.
The Philippines’ largest private hospital group, backed by KKR and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, is weighing buying out minority stakes in some of its hospitals to pave the way for the potential first-time share sale, said the people. Metro Pacific could seek to raise $500 million to $1 billion in an IPO that could take place as soon as the first half of next year, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private matters. Read more>>
Hong Kong Home Prices End Seven-Month Decline With 0.6% Rise
Hong Kong private home prices edged up 0.6 percent in January from December, the first increase in seven months, official data showed on Friday, as reopening of the border with mainland China and expectations of peaking interest rates improved sentiment.
The rise in home prices in January in one of the world’s most unaffordable housing markets followed a revised 1.3 percent fall in December versus November. Read more>>
Tax Cuts for Homebuyers Boosting Sentiment and Sales: HK Agents
The Hong Kong government’s move to cut ad valorem stamp duty is stimulating the city’s residential property market, with a number of transactions taking place on the same day that Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced the measure to help first-time homeowners, according to property agents.
Following the announcement, Shatin Plaza estate in Shatin-Tai Wai district recorded its first home sale this month, with a three-bedroom flat sold for HK$10.38 million ($1.32 million) on Wednesday night, according to Centaline Property Agency. Centaline said the buyer wanted to get ahead of an expected boom in the housing market after the announcement of the ad valorem measure. Read more>>
Singapore Says Government Can’t Cut Land Prices to Tackle Housing Costs
The government cannot simply sell state land at a lower cost to bring down the price of Housing and Development Board flats, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said in response to members of parliament who raised concerns and proposed solutions related to public housing prices.
Not only could this destabilise the market, it does not address the underlying cause, Wong said in his budget debate roundup speech on Friday. Current high prices are due to COVID-era supply issues, not land costs, he said. Read more>>
Hokkaido Ski Area Buffeted by Weak Yen as Tourists Start Returning
An internationally renowned ski resort area in the Niseko region in southwest Hokkaido is often said to be part of Japan, but not in the same “vein”.
The area has been developed with funding from foreign investors and is swarming with non-Japanese visitors and workers. But the past few years have posed challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic and the weakening yen. Read more>>
Tune in again soon for more real estate news and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.
Leave a Reply