Evergrande Chairman Called in to Face Govt and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

The ongoing debt struggles of China Evergrande Group lead the region’s real estate headlines again today, with chairman Xu Jiayin having to face local regulators in Guangdong to explain the developer’s restructuring plan and an unnamed creditor demanding payment on a $260 million debt obligation.

Also in the news today, Blackstone has bought up a stake in Dexus’ Grosvenor Place after China’s CIC backed out of buying more of the Sydney office tower and Goldman Sachs has big plans for Indian real estate.

Evergrande Chairman Summoned by Guangdong Govt

China Evergrande Group Chairman Xu Jiayin was summoned by the Guangdong government after the troubled property developer said it plans to work with creditors on a restructuring plan for its offshore debt.

Provincial authorities will send a working group to urge the company to manage risks, as well as strengthen internal controls and management and ensure normal operations, according to a statement on the government’s website. Read more>>

Evergrande Gets Demand for Payment on $260M Obligation

China Evergrande has got a demand under a $260 million guarantee obligation, the company said on Friday, adding it may be unable to repay due to a liquidity crisis that has gripped China’s property sector. Repayment dates under certain other agreements may be pulled forward if it was unable to meet the obligation, the company warned.

Evergrande, once China’s top-selling developer, has already failed to pay coupons totalling US$82.5 million due on Nov 6 as it stumbles from debt deadline to deadline and grapples with more than US$300 billion in liabilities. Read more>>

Blackstone Buys Half-Stake in Sydney’s Grosvenor Place for $648M

Blackstone has snapped up a half stake in Sydney’s Harry Seidler designed Grosvenor Place. The deal – worth A$925 million ($648 million) – is with Dexus and its Office Partners fund, which controlled 37.5 per cent, and the Canada Plan Investment Board (CPP), which held 12.5pc.

The interest was reported to have sold 13 months ago, again for $925m, to Chinese sovereign wealth fund CIC – which owns a quarter of the asset, acquired when it took over the Investa office portfolio in 2015. Read more>>

Digital Realty Singapore REIT IPO 16X Subscribed

Pure-play data centre real estate investment trust (Reit) Digital Core Reit on Friday (Dec 3) said its offer of 13.4 million units to Singapore retail investors under its initial public offering (IPO) was around 16.1 times subscribed.

At the close of the offer at noon on the day before, there were 10,736 valid applications for 214.8 million units at US$0.88 apiece under the Singapore public offer. In addition, the international placement tranche of 253.7 million units was about 19.6 times subscribed. Read more>>

Goldman Sachs Plans to Invest $2-$3B in Indian Real Estate

Goldman Sachs plans to invest $2 billion to $3 billion in India’s real estate over the next three years, people familiar with the matter said. The move is part of the global investment bank’s plan to put in $30 billion in alternative investments in Asia over the next five years, they said.

Goldman Sachs is looking to come back to India’s property market amid a revival in residential real estate after going slow on this sector in the past decade following the global financial crisis. Goldman has about $2.5 billion of real estate investment in China, the people said. Read more>>

Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust Divesting Melbourne Asset for $30M

Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust (FLCT) is proposing to divest a leasehold property in Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, for a consideration of A$42.5 million ($30 million).

FLCT’s manager has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with an unrelated third-party purchaser for the sale of the property at 2-24 Douglas Street, it said in a bourse filing on Thursday night (Dec 2). The consideration is at a premium to the property’s book value of A$21 million as at Sep 30, 2021, and to the original purchase price of A$21.7 million at FLCT’s initial public offering in 2016. Read more>>

Thailand’s Central Group Buying UK Dept Store Chain Selfridges

The billionaire dynasty behind Selfridges & Co agreed to sell the British department store operator to Thai conglomerate Central Group, according to a source familiar with the situation.

The Weston family has agreed terms on a deal, which could be announced this month, the source said, requesting not to be identified because the information is private. Central Group is owned by the Chirathivats, one of Asia’s wealthiest families. Read more>>

Temasek-Led Cuscaden Gets Final Regulatory Approval for SPH Bid

Cuscaden Peak has waived its rights to walk away from its bid for Singapore Press Holdings in the event of a material adverse effect (MAE) to provide SPH shareholders with “greater transaction certainty”.

The consortium comprising Hotel Properties (HPL), CLA Real Estate Holdings and Mapletree Investments also announced on Thursday night (Dec 2) that it has received the requisite regulatory approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board in Australia, which represents the final outstanding approval needed. Read more>>

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