Peter Wong, non-executive chairman of HSBC’s Asia business
A Hong Kong banker’s son goes on a homebuying spree as prices crater in the city, with that story leading today’s headline roundup. Also in the news, Allianz and Keppel join a private lending deal for data centre firm Princeton Digital Group and a BlackRock-Mubadala credit fund unwinds.
HSBC Chairman’s Son Spends $29M on Hong Kong Homes in Three Months
The son of an HSBC leader has spent at least HK$231 million ($29 million) buying luxury properties in Hong Kong this year, as the city’s home prices hover at an eight-year low.
Jeremy Wong bought four flats at Hong Kong Parkview, a prime residential development in the city, through a vehicle in the past three months, according to filings. Wong is the son of Peter Wong, chairman of the UK bank’s Asia subsidiary, according to people familiar with the matter. Jeremy Wong also works for HSBC, according to his LinkedIn profile. Read more>>
Allianz, Keppel Join $400M Private Loan to Princeton Digital
Private credit fund managers Allianz Global Investors and Keppel Credit will come in as lenders for data centre operator Princeton Digital Group’s $400 million private credit loan, according to people familiar with the matter.
Other lenders in the deal are the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, Standard Chartered and bookrunners Barclays, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. The allocations are set to be finalised next week, they said. Read more>>
BlackRock, Mubadala Unwind Asia Private Credit Partnership on Lack of Deals
BlackRock and Mubadala Investment have mutually agreed to unwind their Asian private credit partnership that focuses on investments in China and Indonesia due to challenges in sourcing deals, according to people familiar with the matter.
Under the partnership, which started in 2023, the Abu Dhabi state-owned investment firm was to match every dollar that BlackRock agreed to put in, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing non-public information. Read more>>
Japan Construction Bottleneck Hits $100B on Labour Shortage
Backlogs in factory and commercial building projects are piling up across Japan, with unfilled orders soaring to an all-time high of more than JPY 15 trillion ($103 billion).
The construction slowdown, fuelled by a chronic labour shortage, has intensified since last year, when new overtime limits further strained the sector’s already thin workforce. Read more>>
Chinese Fashion Retailer Shein Confidentially Files for Hong Kong IPO
China-founded fast-fashion retailer Shein plans to file a draft prospectus confidentially for its Hong Kong listing, marking a rare departure from the usual practice of companies making public filings of IPO documents, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Shein aims to submit the filing confidentially as soon as this week, one of the sources said. A second source said the filing was expected to be made by Monday. Read more>>
Daiwa House Pension Fund Allocate 57% of Holdings to Alternative Assets
Japan’s once conservative pension funds are putting more of their cash in alternative assets to push up returns. One corporate money manager has taken that to a whole new level.
Daiwa House Industry Co.’s retirement fund has parked a whopping 57% of the company’s holdings in alternative assets such as private equity and debt, as well as hedge funds as of the end of March. Read more>>
Blackstone Buys $2B in Discounted Commercial Real Estate Loans
Blackstone is snapping up another $2 billion in commercial real estate loans, extending the firm’s spending spree on discounted debt in the troubled sector.
The loans are performing and backed by apartment buildings and neighbourhood retail. But Blackstone is buying the loans at a roughly 7 percent discount to their face value from Richmond, Virginia-based Atlantic Union Bankshares because the loans were made before interest rates jumped and have lost value. Read more>>
Mainland Millennial Sets Aussie Record With $93M Penthouse Buy
Lendlease last week closed on the sale of a penthouse atop its One Sydney Harbour tower, with mainland China-born Yan Zhang buying the property for a record A$141.55 million ($92.7 million).
Zhang, who was born in 1987, purchased the property through a shell company named Yry Family Pty Ltd, after first agreeing to the deal six years ago. 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.
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