Mirae Needs More Time to Close $5.8B Anbang Hotel Deal and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

A luxury hotel deal leads the way in Mingtiandi’s roundup of Asia real estate headlines today as the South Korean buyer is said to have asked for some more time to complete the $5.8 billion acquisition, as financing dries up amid the pandemic.

In other news around the region, the Japanese backer of WeWork and Oyo has warned investors it is heading for a quarterly loss of $13 billion, while the US has recovered $300 million in funds siphoned off from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund.

Mirae Asks Anbang for More Time to Close $5.8B Hotel Deal

South Korea’s Mirae Asset Global Investments has asked Anbang Insurance Group for more time to close on its $5.8 billion purchase of a US luxury hotel portfolio as the COVID-19 pandemic roils financial markets, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The two parties had been working toward finalizing a deal by the end of this week, but Mirae is seeking an extension until the second half of this year because the required debt financing isn’t immediately available, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. Read more>>

Softbank Sounds Alarm over $13B in Losses

SoftBank warned Monday that it expected to post its first operating loss in 15 years because of a collapse in the value of its flagship tech investments.

The Japanese company said it expected an operating loss of JPY 1.35 trillion ($12.5 billion) in its fiscal year through to 31 March 2020. That compares with an operating profit of more than JPY 2 trillion the previous year. Read more>>

US Returns $300M Recovered 1MDB Funds to Malaysia

The US Department of Justice on Tuesday said it has repatriated another $300 million to Malaysia in recovered money misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB, the country’s sovereign wealth fund.

The DOJ estimated $4.5 billion was siphoned out of Malaysia by high-level fund officials and their associates between 2009 and 2014 in a scandal that has also embroiled Goldman Sachs. Assets recovered included high-end real estate in Beverly Hills, New York and London and tens of millions of dollars in business investments made by fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, allegedly using funds traceable to misappropriated 1MDB money. Read more>>

HNA Investors Angered by Hurried $163M Bond Plan

Cash-strapped Chinese conglomerate HNA Group scrambled to placate investors angered by a last-minute notice of a plan to negotiate a one-year debt moratorium for $163 million of its bonds.

HNA, which appealed for government help with its liquidity crisis two months ago, convened a conference call on Tuesday with all bondholders of its “13 HNA Bonds”, which are scheduled to mature on April 15. Read more>>

China Developers’ Bond Sales Hit Five-Year High

aChinese real estate companies borrowed more in the first quarter through bond sales, indicating easier financing access for cash-thirty developers.

During the first three months, Chinese developers raised a total of RMB 377 billion ($53.5 billion) from domestic and overseas bond sales, up 4 percent from a year ago and the highest total since 2015, according to Everbright Securities. Read more>>

CapitaLand Secures S$400M in Green Loans

CapitaLand has obtained two green loans amounting to S$400 million ($283 million) to “catalyse greening of the group’s global portfolio by 2030”, the property giant said on Wednesday.

A S$150 million four-year green loan is provided by DBS Bank, while a S$250 million three-year multi-currency green loan is provided by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation – Singapore branch. Read more>>

Digital Realty Switches On Third Singapore Data Centre

Digital Realty’s third Singapore data center is now online, bringing 50 additional megawatts of power to businesses operating in – or seeking connections with – Singapore and the greater Asia region.

Digital Loyang II (SIN12) also offers 34,000 square metres (365,973 square feet) of space, and will also help Digital Realty to expand its PlatformDIGITAL product across the Singapore market. Read more>>

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