Hong Kong’s retail sector has taken a battering
Disappearing shoppers lead the way in Mingtiandi’s roundup of Asia real estate headlines today as one of the most famous shopping hubs in the world sees sales take a nosedive.
In other news around the region, a Seoul-based brokerage has sold just under $1 billion in real estate bonds, while an online listings portal has posted a 58 percent hike in revenues for 2019.
Elsewhere, BlackRock has applied to start managing public funds in China, while a coffee shop chain owned by a Thai developer files for bankruptcy.
Hong Kong Retail Sales Plunge Record 44% in February
Hong Kong’s shops and businesses buckled under the full force of the coronavirus outbreak in February as retail sales plummeted by the most on record amid growing travel restrictions and social-distancing measures.
Retail sales by value fell 44 percent in the month, the largest drop on record, to HK$22.7 billion ($2.93 billion) according to a government release. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast a median 40.3 percent decline. The slide in February marks 13 straight months of negative readings. Retail sales by volume also dropped a record 46.7 percent. Read more>>
Meritz Securities Sells KRW 1.2T in Property Bonds
Asset management firm Meritz Securities recently sold more than a trillion won of property bonds in a bid to meet government rules that require securities firms to lower debt guarantees, according to sources Tuesday.
The Seoul-based firm last week sold bonds worth KRW 1.2 trillion ($983 million) to institutional investors and insurance firms, sources said. Some of the buyers are said to include KDB Life Insurance, IBK Pension Insurance, and Tongyang Life Insurance. Read more>>
Fangdd Posts 58% Revenue Growth for 2019
Shares in Fangdd Network Group Ltd. (Nasdaq: DUO) soared 13% by midday Tuesday after the company reported impressive revenue growth for 2019.
The Chinese property technology company posted 50 percent revenue growth for the year-end quarter, at $150.4 million, on net loss of $99.3 million, or $3.16 per American depositary share. Read more>>
OUE Offers Retail Tenants up to 25% Rent Reductions
Property group OUE has joined a string of landlords in Singapore offering rental reliefs to tenants amid poor business brought on by the novel coronavirus outbreak.
OUE and the manager of OUE Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (OUE C-Reit) on Wednesday said retail tenants of Downtown Gallery, Mandarin Gallery, OUE Bayfront, OUE Link and OUE Tower will receive a rent reduction of between 15 percent and 25 percent, reviewed on a month-on-month basis. Read more>>
Keppel Land China Selling Mixed-Use Project for RMB 474M
Keppel Land China, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Corp’s property arm, is selling a mixed-use property in Jiangyin, China for RMB 473.5 million yuan ($67 million), the conglomerate said on Tuesday.
The buyer, Aoyuan Group Chongqing Property Co, will pay RMB 278.8 million for Jiangyin Evergro Properties Co, the subsidiary of Keppel Land China that owns the residential and commercial mixed-use site. Read more>>
Dean & Deluca Files for Bankruptcy
Dean & Deluca Inc, the pioneering gourmet grocer that was already struggling to survive, filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors as the coronavirus brought New York City shoppers to a virtual standstill.
The company listed liabilities of as much as US$500 million (S$711 million) and assets of no more than US$50 million in a bankruptcy petition filed in Manhattan. Its owner, Thailand’s Pace Development Corp, defaulted on a total of 9.5 billion baht (S$412 million) of debt last year. Read more>>
BlackRock, Neuberger Berman File for China Fund Management Licenses
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, and Neuberger Berman have filed to set up wholly owned mutual fund businesses in China as they look to replicate their success in the international market.
The pair became the first global asset managers to hand in applications today, the same day that Chinese regulators lifted foreign ownership limits in the securities and public fund management sector. 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.
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