E-House has a bit less to celebrate these days
In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, Alibaba-backed E-House becomes the latest Chinese property firm to default on a bond, top executives at two mainland investment companies vacate their posts with little or no explanation, and local tycoons advise the campaign of Beijing’s favoured candidate to lead Hong Kong.
China’s E-House Defaults on $298M Bond
E-House, which counts e-commerce giant Alibaba as its second-largest shareholder, has failed to repay a $298 million bond due on 18 April. The notes were issued in October 2019 at a coupon rate of 7.625 percent.
No reason was given for the missed payment, but the Shanghai-based property agency lost RMB 9.37 billion ($1.47 billion) during 2021, according to its unaudited financial results. E-House was one of a large group of Chinese real estate firms that failed to publish their audited financials by the 31 March deadline. Read more>>
Owners of Oxley Garden Condo in Singapore Seeking at Least S$200M
Oxley Garden, sitting on a 58,207 square foot (5,408 square metre) freehold plot in prime District 9, will soon be put up for collective sale on the heels of the sale of 5 Oxley Rise, a much bigger parcel up the road.
Built in 1986, the four-storey Oxley Garden is being marketed with a minimum price of S$200 million ($146.7 million). A tender is expected to be launched soon. Read more>>
Everbright Securities Fires Top Brass as Party Launches Investigation
Everbright Securities shook up its senior management amid media reports of the brokerage being under government investigation for extravagance, a move that sent the company’s shares plunging on the Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges.
The Shanghai-based broker’s chairman, Yan Jun, resigned, Everbright said in a stock exchange statement, citing unspecified “work adjustments”. Liu Jiping stepped down as chairman of the broker’s supervisory committee on the same day, Everbright said without elaborating. Read more>>
China Merchants Bank Loses $35B in Value in Two Days
China Merchants Bank slumped by the most in more than a decade after the nation’s biggest retail lender removed its top executive without giving a reason. Investors suffering a $35 billion beating over two days would be asking for an explanation.
The stock tanked 11.5 percent to HK$52.90 at the close of Tuesday trading in Hong Kong, slicing HK$124.6 billion ($15.7 billion) from the firm’s market capitalisation as trading resumed in the city after a two-day holiday. Tuesday’s losses were the worst since a 12 percent crash in October 2011, according to Bloomberg data. Read more>>
The Curious Exit of a Star China Banker
An investors’ darling has fallen.
China Merchants Bank lost about $16 billion in market value after the surprise departure of its longtime president, Tian Huiyu, who spent nearly nine years building the lender into a retail banking giant. Tian will get an administrative role at the bank’s largest shareholder, China Merchants Group, a Shenzhen-based state-owned enterprise, according to local financial news website Cailianshe. Read more>>
Fosun Wins Approval to Build Homes on Shaw Brothers’ Movietown Site
Shaw Brothers’ Movietown studio complex in Hong Kong’s Sai Kung district is being transformed into a residential enclave, a decade after production ceased at the birthplace of Chinese kung fu films once dubbed Asia’s Hollywood.
The complex on Clear Water Bay Road will be redeveloped into a project with 1.05 million square feet (97,548 square metres) of usable space, featuring 14 three-storey villas and 23 apartment buildings standing between six and 11 floors each, recreational facilities, a club house and a car park, according to the city’s Buildings Department. Read more>>
Li Ka-shing, Lee Shau Kee Now Consultants to John Lee Campaign
Hong Kong tycoons Li Ka-shing and Lee Shau-Kee are joining China-backed John Lee’s campaign for the city’s top job as consultants.
The real estate billionaires are among the 58-person consultant team that Lee announced Tuesday night on a Facebook page. Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Raymond Kwok, New World Development’s Henry Cheng, Sino Land’s Robert Ng and Bank of East Asia’s David Li are also on the team. Read more>>
Chinese Portal Leju Sees Revenues Slip 25%, Net Losses of $150M
Chinese real estate portal operator Leju has announced its financial results for 2021.
The company saw total revenue drop by 25 percent to $534 million and incurred net losses for the period of $150 million as the Chinese market struggled amid concerns around the default of the country’s biggest real estate developer, Evergrande. 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.
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