Pricey Hong Kong homes could be back in fashion after housing prices rose again in March
A stabilising credit outlook and higher liquidity are working their magic in Hong Kong and mainland China as stories of rising housing prices in the region lead Mingtiandi’s headline roundup today.
The rising supply of cash may also have helped developer China Vanke sell more than $1 billion in Hong Kong-listed shares, and there are stories of CapitaLand ghost malls and much more in our list of real estate news from around the region.
HK Home Prices Rose for 2nd Straight Month in March
Hong Kong home prices rose for a second consecutive month in February, providing further evidence that the property correction is over.
The overall price index of pre-owned homes increased at a much faster pace of 1.3 per cent to 365.2 in February, according to data from the city’s Rating and Valuation Department. In January, home prices edged up 0.25 per cent. Read more>>
Analyst Poll Predicts 5% Jump in China Home Prices
Home prices in China are expected to rise more this year than predicted just a few months ago, as Beijing urges banks to ramp up lending and lower interest rates to boost the slowing economy, a Reuters poll showed.
China’s average residential property prices are forecast to rise 5 percent in 2019 from a year earlier, up sharply from a gain of just 0.5 percent expected in the previous survey in December, according to the poll of 17 property analysts and economists. Read more>>
Vanke Takes in HK$7.9B From Share Sale
China Vanke Co sold HK$7.8 billion of shares to pay down overseas debt, highlighting the potential for a wave of equity raising by Chinese developers.
The sale at HK$29.68 per share represented a 5% discount to Wednesday’s closing price, the company said yesterday. The stock surged as much as 7.5% in Hong Kong. For Vanke, China’s biggest listed property developer, the move highlights the strength of its balance sheet and boosts the liquidity of its H-shares, a goal the company flagged last year. Read more>>
Wuhu-Oops! CaptaLand Dumps Empty Anhui Mall for RMB 210M
CapitaLand Retail China Trust (CRCT) and CapitaLand have entered into an agreement to divest their combined 100% stake in the company which owns CapitaMall Wuhu.
The transaction price is based on the company’s adjusted net asset value, including but not limited to its interest in CapitaMall Wuhu of RMB 210 million ($41.5 million). The buyer is an unrelated third party. Read more>>
HK’s Excelsior Hotel Makes Way for Priciest Offices in Causeway Bay
The office tower to rise from where The Excelsior hotel stands on the foreshore of Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay may command the highest rent in the district by the time its redevelopment is completed in 2025, barring a catastrophic economic meltdown in Hong Kong.
The site, known as Lot One, was the very first piece of land sold in Hong Kong when the city became a British colony in 1841. Jardine Matheson, one of Asia’s largest and oldest conglomerates, has owned it ever since, putting up the 869-room hotel on the site in 1973. Read more>>
Son of China Rilin Construction Boss Convicted of Neo-Slavery in NYC
A Brooklyn jury heard testimony earlier this month of virtual slave labor — 14-hour days without pay and threats of physical violence — for Chinese laborers constructing Chinese government buildings in the United States.
Federal prosecutors laid out how Dan Zhong, a director at construction group China Rilin and a former Chinese diplomat, coerced workers to help build Chinese state facilities, including China’s embassy in Washington D.C., by confiscating their travel documents and forcing them to pay security deposits to ensure they would not leave. Read more>>
SG Landlords Bank Benefits of Suburban Office Projects
When property developer Ho Bee Land bought a commercial site at North Buona Vista Drive for S$410.99 million in 2010, observers said then that the resulting office product would be untested for the area. The project, sited outside the Central Business District (CBD) in a university and R&D enclave, was targeted at multinationals keen to set up headquarters near their research facilities.
As the one-north MRT station and retail mall Star Vista were built up, Ho Bee’s move paid off. Since completion in 2013, that building, The Metropolis, has contributed significantly to the company’s annual bottom line, with rental income accounting for 42 per cent of its revenue in FY2018. Today, The Metropolis is fully occupied. Read more>>
Tune in again tomorrow for more news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.
Leave a Reply