China Oceanwide to Be Delisted From HKEX and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Defaulted developer China Oceanwide’s Hong Kong listing is to be cancelled next week, with that announcement leading today’s headline roundup. Also making the list, creditors of Xinyuan Real Estate push for bankruptcy proceedings in New York and shadow bank Zhongrong International Trust faces liquidation.

China Oceanwide HKEX Listing Cancelled

China Oceanwide Holdings became the latest defaulting mainland developer to be delisted from the Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday, according to a bourse announcement.

The HKEX said that shares in the mainland builder, which has gained notoriety for defaults on projects in San Francisco and Los Angeles, will be cancelled from 24 April. Trading in the company’s stock has been suspended since September 2023. Read more>>

Creditors of China’s Xinyuan Push for Bankruptcy in US

Creditors of Chinese developer Xinyuan Real Estate are seeking to force the company into bankruptcy protection in New York in order to collect on bonds that were due last year, according to a court filing.

The bondholders — Cithara Global Multi-Strategy, Mars Partner Ltd and Star Freight & Trading Co — are owed $65.8 million, the creditors said in an involuntary Chapter 11 petition filed Monday evening. Read more>>

China’s Zhongrong International to Be Liquidated

Zhongrong International Trust Co, one of China’s largest shadow banks before it defaulted on billions of dollars of wealth products, is facing liquidation after its two state-appointed custodians concluded that the firm is insolvent, according to people familiar with the matter.

A winding-up proposal for Zhongrong, which had RMB 786 billion ($108 billion) in assets under management as of 2022, was recently submitted to regulators by Citic Trust Co and CCB Trust Co, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing private matters. No final decision has been made by the authorities, the people said. Read more>>

Tariffs Set to Raise Hong Kong Bad-Loan Risk, Says Fitch

The ongoing tariff war is expected to put additional pressure on banks in Hong Kong, which are already grappling with elevated non-performing loans due to a prolonged property sector slump, according to Fitch Ratings.

“Higher tariffs would reinforce our deteriorating banking sector outlooks for China and Hong Kong,” the rating agency said Thursday in a report. While government initiatives aimed at supporting China’s economy were likely to weigh on banks’ profitability, “Hong Kong will see the largest rise in non-performing loans in (Asia Pacific) in 2025, due to a lingering property sector malaise”, Fitch said without providing a figure. Read more>>

Malaysian-Backed $1.7B Melbourne Project Shopped as Distressed Asset

Five years after buyers paid deposits for 80 percent of the planned apartments in a tower planned as Melbourne’s tallest building, the A$2.7 billion ($1.7 billion) project still does not have a builder.

Melbourne-based developer Beulah, co-founded by Adelene Teh and Jiaheng Chan, was caught out by soaring construction costs in the wake of the pandemic, and creditors owed more than A$5 million have taken action to recover their debts. Beulah has now engaged JLL and KPMG to scout for new investors, partners or a potential buyer of the site in Melbourne’s Southbank district, where construction is yet to start. Read more>>

Indonesia’s Sinarmas Land Reports 5.5% Drop in Net Profit

Sinarmas Land reported a 5.5 percent year-on-year drop in net profit to S$154 million ($117.4 million) for the half-year ended 31 December 2024.

Revenue for the half-year dropped 2.9 percent year-on-year to S$721.7 million, while cost of sales and operating expenses grew 6.5 percent and 24.2 percent respectively, based on the developer’s bourse filing on Tuesday. Read more>>

Former Hong Kong Luxury Shop Leased by Pharmacy as Retail Market Crumbles

A local pharmacy has emerged as the newest tenant on Russell Street in Causeway Bay, filling the space previously leased by Italian luxury lingerie brand La Perla to take advantage of a 46 percent slump in rents in one of Hong Kong’s costliest retail strips.

Yu Shing, the pharmacy owner, is expected to pay HK$1 million ($129,000) a month for the premises at 22-24 Russell Street, according to property agents, who declined to be named because the information is private. No other tenancy terms were immediately available. Read more>>

Audit Finds Korea’s Moon Govt Falsified Economic, Property Data for Years

South Korea’s Board of Audit and Inspection  revealed Thursday that the Moon Jae-in administration manipulated key government statistics on housing prices, income and employment throughout most of its five-year term.

The state audit agency found that the falsification was carried out under the direction or pressure of the former presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, implicating all former presidential policy chiefs, including Jang Ha-sung, Kim Su-hyun, Kim Sang-jo and Lee Ho-seung. The audit into the alleged statistical manipulation began in September 2022, with the final report released after two years and seven months. Read more>>

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