Evergrande Bondholders Move Toward Lawsuit and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, a group of bondholders reportedly mulls legal action against Evergrande after the surprise disclosure of seized cash at the developer’s services unit, while rival Sunac China is said to be in talks to extend payment on an onshore bond due next month.

Evergrande Bondholders Threaten to Sue After $2B Debt Bombshell

A group of bondholders is moving closer to formal legal action against Evergrande after the world’s most indebted property developer made a surprise disclosure that mystery lenders to one of its subsidiaries claimed more than $2 billion in cash.

A group of distressed debt investors in the US and the UK, including Saba Capital, Redwood Capital Management and Ashmore, met Tuesday and directed lawyers to begin work on the legal analysis needed to decide whether to take action against Evergrande, according to people familiar with the talks. Read more>>

Property Developer Sunac China to Extend Payment for $627M Bond

Property developer Sunac China is planning to extend payment on a $627.85 million onshore puttable bond due on 1 April, a source close to the company said Wednesday, and it is in preliminary negotiations with large holders.

The move came after the country’s No.3 property developer by sales said late last month that it had prepared sufficient funding to repurchase the bond, and earlier this month added a sell-back date of April 2023, on top of an existing option to sell it back this April. Read more>>

Chinese Builder CIFI Plunges on Earnings

CIFI Holdings’ shares plunged 8.8 percent as 2021 profit dropped and the builder’s gross margin missed analyst estimates. Other developers including China Evergrande Group have already warned that they will probably miss deadlines this month for reporting audited results.

Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings withdrew its long-term issuer credit score on Sunac China Holdings at the company’s request, while Fitch also downgraded the builder. A Sunac onshore bond rose 17 percent to reverse some of its record day-earlier slump after a two-year schedule to meet repayment obligations was proposed. The company is planning a meeting with holders of the bond, according to people familiar with the matter. Read more>>

Ascendas India Trust Proposes to Acquire Mumbai Area Warehouse

Ascendas India Trust on Thursday entered into definitive agreements to acquire a 330,000 square foot (30,658 square metre) warehouse in Panvel, Navi Mumbai for INR 2.2 billion ($29 million).

A-iTrust will acquire the recently constructed warehouse from Arshiya Group as part of a forward purchase agreement executed in July 2019, the trustee-manager said in a bourse filing. Read more>>

Swire Signs Up NYC’s Related for Miami Supertall Project 

Related Cos, the developer behind Manhattan’s Hudson Yards project, is making its first foray into the Miami office market.

The real estate firm, led by billionaire chairman Stephen Ross, is working with Hong Kong-based Swire Properties to develop a supertall building in Brickell, a key commercial district in Miami, according to a person familiar with the matter. Read more>>

Equinix Acquires 5.5 Acre Land Parcel in Chennai for $9M

Data centre giant Equinix has acquired a plot of land in Chennai as part of its “expansion and growth strategy”.

The co-location firm announced this week that it acquired the 5.5 acre (2.2 hectare) parcel in the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd (SIPCOT) IT Park. Read more>>

SPH Seeks to Buy Back Outstanding S$500M of 3.2% Notes Due 2030

Singapore Press Holdings on Thursday launched a consent solicitation and tender offer exercise to buy back its outstanding S$500 million ($368 million) worth of 3.2 percent notes due 2030, issued under the group’s S$1 billion multicurrency debt issuance programme.

Noteholders are invited to sell back their notes to the company, in cash, at a purchase price of 100.75 percent of the principal amount from 24 March until the expiry deadline at 2pm on 18 April. Read more>>

Korea’s Hotel Deals Hit Record-High $1.4B in 2021: JLL

Hotel deals in South Korea hit a record high of KRW 1.7 trillion ($1.4 billion) in 2021, up 80 percent from the previous year, said property services firm JLL.

The buying and selling of hotels in South Korea will reach about KRW 1.2 trillion this year, backed by the rising number of changes in property use, redevelopments and increased attention from overseas investors, JLL said. Also, the domestic hotel market will recover in earnest late this month as the government on 21 March began self-quarantine exemptions for entrants from overseas who are fully vaccinated, the report added. Read more>>  

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