LV, Fendi Close Shops in Hong Kong’s Times Square and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, Louis Vuitton and Fendi shops in Hong Kong’s Times Square close for good after a tussle over rents, and the brother-sister team in charge of New World Development and its hotel unit Rosewood are reportedly laying the groundwork for a pair of US-listed SPACs.

LV, Fendi Close Shops in Hong Kong’s Times Square

The Louis Vuitton and Fendi luxury fashion stores in Hong Kong’s Times Square have shut, months after a reported rift over store rents between owner LVMH and Wharf Real Estate Investment Corporation, operator of the upscale mall in the prime retail district of Causeway Bay.

A spokesperson for Louis Vuitton confirmed that its Times Square store has closed and said all staff had been reassigned to other Louis Vuitton stores in Hong Kong. Read more>>

New World’s Adrian Cheng Said to Be Planning $400M SPAC

New World Development’s Adrian Cheng is planning to raise funds through a special purpose acquisition company in the US, according to people familiar with the matter, making him the latest Hong Kong tycoon to jump on the blank-cheque firm bandwagon, Bloomberg reported.

Cheng is working with advisers on the potential SPAC’s IPO, said the people, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. The blank-cheque company could raise $200 million to $400 million, one of the people said. Read more>>

Hong Kong’s Rosewood Hotel Group to File for SPAC Listing

Hong Kong’s luxury Rosewood Hotel Group, a unit of property developer New World Development, plans to file for a special purpose acquisition company, two people with knowledge of the matter said, adding to the recent rush for such deals.

Rosewood, run by Sonia Cheng, the granddaughter of family-run New World’s founder, has enlisted Credit Suisse and UBS to lead the US SPAC listing, which targets the consumer sector, the people told Reuters. Read more>>

UIC Secures Green, Sustainability-Linked Loans Worth S$300M

United Industrial Corporation (UIC) announced on Monday that it had secured its first green and sustainability-linked loans amounting to S$300 million ($225.3 million) from UOB and DBS. They include a S$200 million sustainability-linked loan and a S$100 million green loan.

The green loan will be used to fund major upgrading works at the Singapore Land Tower, which is owned by UIC. Read more>>

New World Closes Hong Kong Mall After Virus Cluster Emerges

New World Development extended the closure of its flagship mall in Hong Kong through Friday after a cluster of new COVID-19 cases centred there emerged over the past week.

The developer decided to shut the K11 MUSEA shopping centre, located in the Tsim Sha Tsui section of Kowloon, until Friday to begin deep-cleaning and staff testing, it said Monday. The mall was previously planned to close from Sunday through Monday. Read more>>

Mainland Developers Surge as Major Cities Alter Land Auction System

Shares of mainland property developers surged on optimism that a centralised land-sale programme to be adopted in major Chinese cities this year would help lower acquisition costs and improve gearing.

China Resources Land jumped 11 percent to HK$36.65 ($4.72) on Thursday, leading the charge among peers listed in Hong Kong. China Overseas Land and Development and Country Garden climbed more than 7 percent. A gauge tracking mainland-listed developers surged 6.2 percent, with China Vanke and China Fortune Land surging by the 10 percent daily limit. Read more>>

Chinese Investment in Australia Fell 60% Last Year

Chinese investment in Australia plunged by more than 60 percent in 2020, according to new data. Australian National University identified just over $1 billion in investment in 2020, down from $2.6 billion the previous year. Almost all — 86 percent — came from Chinese firms established within Australia and not directly from foreign firms.

Property investment firm Ironfish, which has offices across Australia and China, has seen real estate purchases from mainland China dip dramatically in recent years. The managing director of Ironfish Glen Waverley in Melbourne’s southeast, Michael Du, told Australian Associated Press that his company had turned its attention more to the local market since investment from China had slowed. Read more>>

Hong Kong Hotel Owners Mull Residential Conversions

Some Hong Kong hotel operators are considering converting their properties into residential buildings as the tourism industry shows no sign of recovery and home prices start to rebound.

The applications for conversion of two hotels — the Horizon Suite Hotel in Ma On Shan, and the Novotel Nathan Road Kowloon — to residential use were approved by the Town Planning Board on Friday. Read more>>

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