Reports have linked the Hong Kong fire to substandard building materials (Getty Images)
Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades is raising questions on construction standards after dozens died in a complex under renovation. Also making the news today, Singapore lines up more land sales and Mirae is said to have asked Korean authorities to place a hold on Brookfield’s IFC property in Seoul.
279 Missing, 44 Dead as Hong Kong Struggles to Tame Apartment Fire
Forty-four people have been killed and 279 others are missing after a ferocious blaze ravaged a housing estate in Hong Kong’s Tai Po neighbourhood, with scorching flames ripping through bamboo scaffolding on seven residential blocks.
Among the scores hospitalised, 45 are in a serious condition, according to the Fire Services Department. Footage from the scene showed bamboo scaffolding outside several flats engulfed in flames, with burning sections of green scaffolding mesh falling to the ground. Read more>>
Singapore’s URA Releases Three Residential Sites
The Urban Redevelopment Authority released three residential sites for sale on Wednesday under Singapore’s government land sales programme for the second half of 2025.
The sites in Dairy Farm Walk, Tanjong Rhu Road and Dover Drive can potentially yield 480, 525 and 625 residential units, respectively, the URA said. They form part of the 4,725 residential units to be released via the confirmed list of the second-half GLS programme to cater to housing demand, the authority said. Read more>>
Mirae Files Request to Freeze Brookfield’s Seoul Assets Over Dispute
Uncertainty surrounding the sale of the International Finance Center in Yeouido — one of Seoul’s most prominent office complexes — has deepened as tensions between Mirae Asset Global Investments and Brookfield Asset Management have escalated once again.
Mirae Asset recently filed for a provisional attachment on Brookfield’s IFC-related stake, and the Seoul Southern District Court approved the request, with the order taking effect on 18 November. As a result, Brookfield is temporarily barred from selling or disposing of its IFC stake or receiving any economic benefits from it. Read more>>
Chinese Mall Developer Joy City De-Listed in Hong Kong After Privatisation
Joy City Property de-listed from the Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday after controlling shareholder Grandjoy Holdings Group — the commercial real estate arm of Chinese state-owned food processing giant COFCO — repurchased and cancelled shares held by other investors through a private agreement.
Joy City went public on the Hong Kong bourse in 2013. The developer said at the end of July that Grandjoy, which owns 64 percent of Joy City, would spend HK$2.9 billion ($372.8 million) in a share buyback scheme. Read more>>
Swire Cutting 10% of Hong Kong HQ Headcount
Swire Group is laying off roughly 10 percent of employees at its Hong Kong head office, according to people familiar with the matter, as the British conglomerate seeks to streamline operations amid China’s economic slowdown.
The cut was made last week and affected some 40 people in divisions including sustainable development, finance and risk management, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private matters. Some department leaders were laid off, including group head of sustainability Mark Harper, they said. Read more>>
Evergrande Liquidators Gain Control Over More Assets
A Hong Kong court bolstered an injunction against the ex-wife of the founder of China Evergrande covering $220 million in assets across Canada, Gibraltar, Jersey and Singapore.
The ruling gives liquidators of the troubled developer more room to recover $6 billion owed to creditors, with Judge Russell Coleman issuing the decision in a hearing Wednesday. It marks a procedural win for the liquidators, nearly two years after Evergrande’s collapse in one of the world’s biggest corporate failures. Read more>>
Hong Kong’s New World Wins More Support for Bond Haircut
Hong Kong builder New World Development, the poster child of the city’s distressed property sector, received additional bondholder support in its debt swap plan as the second early-bird deadline closed, a filing showed.
Investors tendered a total of $185 million of its perpetual bonds and $39.5 million regular notes during the second early deadline of 25 November. Read more>>
Hong Kong Residential Rents Hit Record High as More Mainlanders Move In
Hong Kong residential rents hit a record high as demand from new arrivals to the city offsets a wider real estate downturn.
The rental price index rose slightly in September from a month earlier, to the highest since records began in 1993, and held that level in October, government data showed on Wednesday. The growth comes amid a sustained influx of mainland Chinese to Hong Kong in recent years. The newly adjusted index value for September released on Wednesday surpassed the previous record set in August 2019. Read more>>
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