China Evergrande doesn’t seem to have received the bailout from the Guangdong government that it had been looking for, but the mainland developer got a helping hand from the Hong Kong stock exchange last week when it won permission for an IPO expected to be worth up to $2 billion.
Also in the news, Hong Kong’s housing crunch has taken a bite out of Mickey Mouse’s plans for Lantau Island and Canada’s CPPIB says it has some big plans for India.
Evergrande Gets HKEX Nod for Management Spin Off
China Evergrande Group won approval from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to spin off its property management unit, it said in an exchange filing on Friday, paving the way for the company to raise much needed capital.
Evergrande could seek to raise $1 billion to $2 billion from the offering, depending on market conditions, people familiar with the matter said, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The developer said it will shortly submit a formal application for listing the property management unit. Read more>>
Hong Kong Disneyland Loses Rights to Adjoining Site
Walt Disney Co.’s Hong Kong Disneyland Resort lost an option to expand its site after local authorities decided not to renew an agreement with the amusement park to develop a neighboring plot of land.
Hong Kong won’t extend the 20-year purchase option, which expires Thursday, due to “the current economic conditions,” according to a statement Wednesday on the government website. A 60-hectare patch of land next to the theme park was reserved since 2000 to allow for possible expansion. Read more>>
HK Office Rents Expected to Decline 30% This Year
Hong Kong’s office leasing market faces a new low this year, with rents declining by as much as 30 per cent, as companies assess their need for space and adopt work from home arrangements because of the coronavirus pandemic, analysts said.
Office rents in the city’s Central business district fell by 17 per cent to 18 per cent in the first half of the year, and could drop by between 25 per cent and 30 per cent for the whole year, said Jeff Yau, a Hong Kong property sector analyst at DBS Bank (Hong Kong).
“The office market is worse than the city’s housing market. Corporate downsizing is very common -there is no expansion plan really,” he said. Read more>>
CPPIB to Invest 1/3rd of Funds in Emerging Markets by 2025
Canada’s massive pension fund plans to invest up to a third of its funds in emerging markets over the next five years and India is an important destination, according to a senior executive.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) manages about 434.4 billion Canadian dollars ($329.75 billion) as of June 30. A bulk of its investments are in North America — around 34% of total assets are allocated in the United States — followed by Asia. Read more>>
India Online Grocer in Talks with Temasek for $100M Fundraise
Bengaluru-based BigBasket is in talks to raise up to $100 million in a fresh funding round led by Singapore’s state investment arm Temasek Holdings to fight new competitors, including JioMart, in the online grocery segment.
According to a report in Entrackr, the talks between the two have been on for the past few weeks, and Temasek could alone inject about $50-70 million in the proposed financing. Other investors including Mirae Asset and CDC Group are, too, expected to join. Read more>>
FCT Plans Equity Fundraising of Up to S$1.44B
The manager of Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) is looking to undertake a private placement at an issue price of between S$2.35 and S$2.435 per unit, as well as a non-renounceable preferential offering at between S$2.34 and S$2.42 per unit.
The proposed equity fundraising will partially finance the real estate investment trust’s (Reit) acquisition of the remaining 63.11 per cent stake in AsiaRetail Fund from its sponsor, Frasers Property, and pare existing debts. Read more>>
60% of Hong Leong’s New SG Condo Sold on Launch Weekend
The Hong Leong group sold 60.3 per cent of its Penrose condominium over its launch weekend, with the reception among buyers in line with recent data showing bullish new home sales defying the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
As at 5pm on Sunday (Sept 27), 341 units out of 566 in the 99-year leasehold development in Sims Drive had been taken up, said Hong Leong in a media release. Read more>>
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