WeWork Dublin Tower Seized From Hana and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Europe’s office crisis is causing havoc for Korean investors, with an account of creditors seizing a Dublin office complex leading Mingtiandi’s headline roundup today. Also in the news, Country Garden is hit with a wind-up petition in Hong Kong and an insurer backed by China’s Dalian Wanda skips a bond payment.

Receivers Seize Dublin WeWork Tower From Korea’s Hana, JR AMC

Deloitte has been appointed as receiver to No.2 Dublin Landings, a 100,000 square foot (9,290 square metre) office building fully leased to flexible workspace giant WeWork in the Irish capital’s north docklands.

One of five office blocks built by Ireland’s Ballymore in partnership with Singaporean-based Oxley at their Dublin Landings development, the building was acquired by KanAm Grund on behalf of Hana Financial Investment and Korean REIT JR AMC for €106.5 million ($115 million) in November 2018. Read more>>

Country Garden Receives Hong Kong Winding-Up Petition Over $204M Loan

Embattled Chinese developer Country Garden faces a winding-up petition in Hong Kong, months after the company started what is expected to be the second-largest restructuring effort among its peers, following that of China Evergrande.

Country Garden received a winding-up petition filed by Ever Credit, a wholly owned unit of Kingboard Holdings, on Tuesday due to non-repayment of a term loan worth HK$1.6 billion ($204 million) including accrued interest, according to a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange Wednesday morning. Read more>>

Wanda-Backed Insurer Skips Bond Call Option in Sign of Cash Woes

Aeon Life Insurance Co, a Chinese insurer backed by Dalian Wanda Group Co, chose not to exercise a call option on a subordinated bond in a move that usually signals an issuer’s liquidity strains or refinancing challenges.

The insurance company decided to skip the March call option on its RMB 2 billion ($278 million) subordinated bond maturing in 2029 that was used to replenish its capital, according to a statement from the company published on the Chinamoney.com website Wednesday. Read more>>

Sun Hung Kai Properties’ First-Half Underlying Profit Falls 6%

Hong Kong’s biggest developer posted a decline of 6 percent in first-half profit as high interest rates and economic uncertainty weighed on buyer interest.

Sun Hung Kai Properties’ underlying earnings, which exclude property revaluations, dropped to HK$8.9 billion ($1.1 billion) in the six months ended 31 December, the company said in a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange Wednesday. Read more>>

Seoul-Based NH Investment Launches $150M Real Estate Fund

South Korea’s NH Investment & Securities announced Wednesday the launch of a KRW 200 billion ($150 million) real estate fund for institutional investors for value-add and opportunistic investments.

The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, its parent company, anchored the fund, accounting for 60 percent of the commitments. Some developers and mutual savings institutions also participated in the fund. Read more>>

Korea’s NPS Logs Record Return Rate on Stocks’ Bull Run

South Korea’s National Pension Service, the world’s third-largest pension fund, posted a 13.59 percent annualised return last year, making its net asset value KRW 1,035.8 trillion ($776.5 billion) at the end of 2023.

The return rate is the highest since its fund management arm was established in 1999, the state-run fund said Wednesday. Gains from investment for the last year totalled KRW 126.8 trillion, about 22 percent of the pension fund’s cumulative returns since its inception. Read more>>

Far East Consortiums Sets Date for IPO of Czech Casino Unit

Far East Consortium has scheduled a date for the planned spin-off of its Palasino Holdings subsidiary. The spin-off, proposed in September, is set for 11 March. It aims to improve operational and financial transparency within the corporate structure.

Palasino Holdings, located in the Cayman Islands, manages an integrated resort in the Czech Republic, along with three hotels in Germany and one in Austria. Read more>>

Japan’s Average Condo Price Hits Record High for Seventh Year

The average unit price of new condominiums put up for sale in Japan in 2023 was JPY 59.11 million ($394,500), up 15.4 percent from the previous year and hitting a record high for the seventh straight year, according to the Real Estate Economic Institute.

The nationwide average price was pushed up by rising costs for construction materials and labour, as well as a number of ultra-luxury properties in central Tokyo, the institute said Wednesday. The research firm predicts that condominium prices will remain in an upward trend amid rising costs. Read more>>

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