The disgraced former chairman of a Hong Kong-listed developer leads the way in Mingtiandi’s roundup of Asia real estate headlines today with the news that the property mogul has been formally charged with sexually molesting a child.
Property mogul Wang Zhenhua has been formally charged after being detained by Shanghai police last week
In other news around the region, a Chengdu-based company has pulled out of a £1 billion 60-year real estate investment deal with the UK, while China developers have issued more overseas bonds in the first ten days of July than for the whole of last month.
Elsewhere, a Warburg Pincus-backed warehouse robotics startup raises $150 million in a new round of financing, and a Gurugram-headquartered hotel chain becomes the world’s third largest after being in operation for only six years.
Future Land Boss Formally Charged with Child Molestation
Prosecutors in Shanghai on Wednesday formally approved the arrest of Chinese tycoon Wang Zhenhua who was detained last week on suspicion of child sexual abuse, state media reported.
“Based on a police investigation, confessions from the suspects, statements from victims and testimony from witnesses, Wang and Zhou are suspected of committing crimes of sexual molestation against children,” Shanghai police said in a statement. Read more>>
Sichuan Guodong Pulls Out of £1B UK Investment Deal
Sheffield Council has scrapped a 60-year partnership agreement with a Chinese construction group after plans for £220m ($275 million) of investment in a series of city centre projects failed to materialise.
The authority announced what it described as the “biggest Chinese investment deal outside London” in July 2016 with Sichuan Guodong Construction Group with a pledge that a first tranche of £220m of funding would fund “four or five Sheffield city centre projects over the next three years”. Read more>>
China Developers Issue $4B in Overseas Bonds in 10 Days
Chinese developers are flocking to the offshore bond market, one of the few fundraising channels available amid a government clampdown on credit, as prices for land at tender rise sharply.
Developers have issued overseas bonds worth more than $4 billion in the first 10 days of July. That compares with a total of $3.5 billion in bonds issued in June, according to financial data provider Wind Information. Read more>>
Fitch Says SG Real Estate to Grow 3.2% But Warns of Risks
The residential and non-residential buildings sector in Singapore will grow at 3.2 percent this year and 2.3 percent in 2020, supported by a strong pipeline of planned projects, according to Fitch Solutions Macro Research.
But the firm warned of risks to its forecasts which include uncertainty surrounding US-China trade tensions and the possibility of a recession occurring within the next few quarters. Read more>>
Warburg Pincus-backed Warehouse Robotics Startup Geek+ Raises $150M
Beijing-based logistics robotics startup Geek+ has raised $150 million in its Series C1 financing as it looks to bring automation to warehouses worldwide, the company said.
Its new funding was led by US and China-focused venture investor GGV Capital, whose portfolio includes Alibaba, Didi Chuxing and Airbnb, and New York-based hedge fund D1 Capital Partners. US private equity firm Warburg Pincus, which led a $150 million investment in Geek+ last year, also participated in the new round. Read more>>
SF Pension Fund Commits $50M to PAG Fund
The San Francisco City & County Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS) has committed $50 million to PAG’s third special situations fund, according to a recent board meeting document.
The Hong Kong-based private equity firm PAG is targeting to raise up to $1 billion for its third special situations fund, PAG Special Situations Fund III. Besides SFERS, the vehicle has received a $75-million commitment from Texas Permanent School Fund. Read more>>
India Coal Tycoon to Lure Google with INR 700B Data Hub Investment
A string of successful bets on ports, mining and commodities helped transform Gautam Adani from a nondescript diamond trader into a tycoon with a net worth of $10 billion.
Now the Indian businessman is setting his sight on what he believes could become another big money maker: Selling data storage services to companies such as Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. His conglomerate Adani Enterprises Ltd. has said it expects to invest INR 700 billion ($10.2 billion) to build data parks in a southern state over the next two decades. Read more>>
OYO Third Largest Hotel Chain in the Wold with 850,000 Keys
OYO Hotels & Homes, today announced that the company has now emerged as the world’s third largest hotel chain (as per room count) as of June 2019, and fastest-growing chain of hotels, homes & spaces, leaving behind several traditional and long-standing hospitality brands.
In a short span of 6 years, OYO has expanded its presence to 800+ cities, nearly 23,000+ OYO-branded hotels and 850,000 rooms, surpassing the scale of traditional and established hotel chain brands in the world. Read more>>
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