
Fosun Capital is betting on demand for the staff-less alternative to Family Mart
Leading today’s roundup, China’s biggest developer by sales announced a $3 billion fund-raising plan to repay debt — and promptly took a beating on the Hong Kong stock exchange due to the dilution of its existing shares. Singapore housing continues to heat up, with yet another en-bloc property hitting the market, and there’s some news from Vietnam today as a Gaw Capital-backed joint venture starts work on an office tower in Ho Chi Minh City. Read on for the rest of the stories.
Country Garden Plans To Raise $3B Trigger Share Plunge
Plans by Country Garden Holdings to raise HK$23.5 billion (US$3 billion) from placement of 460 million shares and issuing convertible bonds triggered a plunge in its shares and a retreat in Hong Kong stocks from record highs on Wednesday. Shares in China’s largest property developer by sales slid 6.6 per cent at the open to HK$16.48.
Country Garden will place 460 million shares at HK$17.13 apiece with at least six independent investors, reflecting a 3.7 per cent discount to its Tuesday closing price, according to its filing. These shares make up around 2.16 per cent of the company’s existing share capital and 2.12 per cent of the enlarged share capital after the completion of the deal. Moreover, the company will raise an additional HK$15.6 billion through convertible bonds. Read more>>
Singapore’s Dunearn Gardens Goes on Sale for at Least $370M
Dunearn Gardens, a freehold high-rise residential redevelopment site off Singapore’s Newton Road, has been launched for collective sale. The owners of the 114-unit estate expect offers above their reserve price of S$488.8 million ($370 million), said Knight Frank Singapore, the exclusive marketing agent.
Including an additional development charge of $35.7 million payable to intensify the use of the site to the maximum permissible gross floor area (GFA), the land rate is estimated to be $1,962 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr). Read more>>
Fosun Capital Leads $80M Round in Automated Store Chain Bingobox
China’s private equity firm Fosun Capital has led a US$80 million series B round in Bingobox, a start-up developing fully automated convenience stores. A number of investors including Prometheus Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, GGV Capital and Ventech China also participated in the round, according to a company announcement.
First established in 2016 in Guangdong province, Bingobox lets users scan their face or their phone to enter the store. Users can then conduct self-service check-out via bar code scanning and mobile payment. The company has deployed nearly 300 checkout-free convenience stores in 29 cities in China so far. Read more>>
Singapore Sees 23% Jump in Sales of Private Homes and ECs in 2017
The number of private homes and executive condominiums (ECs) sold by developers in 2017 hovers at 14,707 units, 23 percent higher than the 11,971 units sold in 2016, based on preliminary estimates from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Monday.
The sales in 2017 include 10,682 private residential units, 34 percent more than the 7,972 units sold in 2016. The figures are based on the developers’ sales survey conducted by the URA and final sales data from the first three quarters of last year. Read more>>
Ascendas-Singbridge Venture Breaks Ground on Vietnam Office Tower
Urban solutions provider Ascendas-Singbridge and its joint venture partner, Saigon Bund Capital Partners (a vehicle jointly held by Gaw Capital Partners and Ho Chi Minh City’s NP Capital), yesterday said construction work for an office tower in Ho Chi Minh City’s first fully integrated business park has begun.
This construction involves Office Tower 1 at OneHub Saigon situated in Saigon Hi-Tech Park. With a gross floor area of about 12,000 sq m over six floors, the tower is expected to start operations from the first quarter of next year. Read more>>
Vanke To Deploy Robot Army for Property Management
China Vanke is rapidly implementing the use of technology to improve the quality of life of families in nearly 1,800 projects in 65 cities on the mainland. The group’s founder and former chairman Wang Shi in 2015 said that 30 per cent of its property management services – from sweeping floors to guarding its estates – would be done by robots over the next 10 years.
“Property development and management is heading hi-tech,” said Quincy Chow, vice-president for sales and marketing of the operation department at Vanke Property (Hong Kong), a wholly owned unit of China Vanke. “Robot cooks have been in use for some time now to prepare lunch for our staff in China and the application of artificial intelligence also extends to security surveillance.” Read more>>
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