China home prices fell at their fastest pace in eight years
China home prices fell the most in nearly nine years during December, with that story leading today’s roundup of headlines from around the region. Also making the list, Country Garden has appointed KPMG as principal financial advisor on the developer’s offshore debt restructuring and a CBRE poll reveals Hong Kong-based property investors as the world’s most pessimistic.
China Home Prices Fall Most Since 2015 as Downturn Persists
China home prices fell the most in almost nine years in December, underscoring why officials are extending support to the biggest cities to end the property crisis.
New home prices in 70 cities, excluding state-subsidised housing, dropped 0.45 percent last month from November, when they declined 0.37 percent, National Bureau of Statistics figures showed Wednesday. The decrease was the steepest since February 2015. The second-hand market didn’t fare any better, with prices sliding 0.79 percent, the same pace as the previous month. Read more>>
Country Garden Appoints KPMG to Advise on Offshore Debt Restructuring
Country Garden on Tuesday announced the appointment of KPMG Advisory (China) Ltd as principal financial advisor for the beleaguered builder’s offshore debt restructuring.
Country Garden, China’s biggest private developer, is among a long list of mainland real estate groups facing a cash crunch since being hit by a debt crisis in mid-2021. Read more>>
Hong Kong’s Property Bears Lead Globe in Pessimism: CBRE
Hong Kong-based property bears top the world in their pessimism, as a mix of high interest rates and a slumping economy with weak demand dampened any interest in buying assets, according to a study by consultancy CBRE.
The net buying intention of Hong Kong-based professional property investors remained at negative 11 percent this year after shrivelling to negative 13 percent in 2023 from positive 9 percent in 2022, CBRE said, based on a survey of 510 investors. Read more>>
China’s Q4 GDP Shows Patchy Economic Recovery
China’s economy grew 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, official data showed on Wednesday, missing analysts’ expectations slightly but still ensuring Beijing met its annual growth target despite a shaky start to the year.
Confounding most analysts’ expectations, the world’s second-largest economy has struggled to mount a strong and sustainable post-COVID bounce, burdened by a protracted property crisis, weak consumer and business confidence, mounting local government debts, and slower global growth. Read more>>
China’s Wealth Fund Vows to Play Role in Stabilising Markets
China’s $1.24 trillion sovereign wealth fund vowed to help with risk mitigation and market stabilisation in 2024, the latest sign of state companies playing a bigger role in bolstering the nation’s ailing stock market.
Central Huijin Investment, the unit that holds government stakes in big financial institutions, will coordinate such tasks as it seeks to strengthen state financial capital, parent firm China Investment Corp said in a Monday readout of its annual work meeting. Huijin will also “enrich, improve and upgrade” its equity management tools, it said without providing details. Read more>>
Brookfield Completes $775M Deal for Bankrupt Data Centre Firm Cyxtera
Brookfield has completed its $775 million purchase of Cyxtera, merging the bankrupt data centre provider with its Evoque co-location brand to create a combined company with more than 50 locations.
The deal, first announced in November, sees Brookfield acquire the majority of Cyxtera’s assets. Evoque CEO Spencer Mullee will lead the newly merged organisation, which forms part of Brookfield Infrastructure’s global data centre platform. Read more>>
Sunac China, Fosun Seeking Buyers for Tourism Assets
Cash-strapped mainland companies Sunac and Fosun International are seeking to dispose of their tourism-related assets for funds.
But Sunac has received no response so far for four tourism projects on sale, mainland media reported. Among them are a new cultural tourism zone in Wuhan in Hubei province with a reserve price of RMB 1.1 billion ($153 million) and a hotel in Chengdu with an asking price of RMB 597 million. Read more>>
EC World REIT, AEM Chided for Inadequate Disclosures
EC World REIT and AEM Holdings made a couple of shocking disclosures concerning their assets in the past fortnight. But instead of arming investors with information to make reasoned decisions — as disclosures should — the announcements raised questions about the companies’ inadequate internal controls and communication.
EC World Asset Management, the REIT manager, announced on 2 January that the REIT’s sponsor, Forchn Holdings, had — without its knowledge and consent — taken out mortgages in November 2023 on three of the REIT’s seven properties for loans of RMB 268.6 million ($37.5 million) to the sponsor. Read more>>
Tune in again soon for more real estate news and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on X, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.
Leave a Reply