New World Buying Back $610M in Bonds as Stock Slides and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Hong Kong’s New World Development leads Mingtiandi’s review of the real estate news today with the developer buying back bonds amid a stock slide. Also in the headlines, Singapore launches a pair of residential site tenders and Hong Kong’s central bank warns banks to prepare for more Chinese developers defaulting on debt.

New World Development Buys Back $610M in Dollar Bonds

New World Development has accepted a buyback of seven of its dollar bonds for $610.3 million, an effort to shore up its finances amid a long-running slump in China’s property sector.

The tender offer settlement date is expected to be on or about Tuesday, according to a company statement filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday morning. The buyback amount is slightly above the maximum acceptance amount of $600 million that it originally announced in November. Read more>>

Cautious Response Expected for Zion Road, Upper Thomson GLS Sites

Two state land sites to test the waters for a new type of rental housing were launched for sale on Monday, with analysts anticipating a cautious response from developers for the new proposition.

One site on Zion Road will produce a huge project with up to 1,170 residential units, including 435 serviced apartments, sitting on the fringe of the prime River Valley residential district and close to Orchard Road. Read more>>

HKMA Said Encouraging Banks to Prepare for China Real Estate NPLs

The Hong Kong Economic Journal, quoting sources, reported that Arthur Yuen, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, has recently met with a group of senior executives at the helm of medium-sized banks.

The HKMA expected the ratio of classified loans, commonly known as non-performing loans, in the banking sector to rise further to about 2 percent by the end of December this year. Read more>>

Warburg Pincus Reshuffles Leadership in Asia to Tap Growth

Warburg Pincus is tapping a new boss to oversee its entire Asia private equity business, placing a region that’s increasingly complex to navigate under one chain of command.

Vishal Mahadevia, a Warburg veteran since 2006 and the firm’s India chief, will become head of Asia private equity, the company said Monday. It’s part of a sweeping overhaul of Asia top brass at the firm. Warburg is also naming new heads in China, India and Southeast Asia. Read more>>

CDL Secures Sustainability-Linked Loan of $252M From OCBC

City Developments Limited has obtained the OCBC 1.5°C three-year loan of £200 million ($252 million), which marks the first net-zero aligned loan for corporates in Singapore, the real estate firm announced in a press release on Monday. The loan will be used for refinancing, general corporate funding and working capital purposes.

OCBC launched the 1.5°C loan in March to incentivise corporates to set and work towards clear carbon emissions reduction targets. Companies that obtain the loan will get a reduced interest rate if they meet or exceed the pre-agreed annual decarbonisation performance targets. Read more>>

Analyst Who Called Chinese Bank Turmoil Says Trusts Are Next

The analyst who predicted the troubles that cascaded through China’s regional banks four years ago now has a similar warning for the nation’s $2.9 trillion trust industry.

Many of these firms are “deeply distressed, potentially with their capital solvency at risk,” said Jason Bedford, a former analyst with Bridgewater Associates and UBS Group AG. Read more>>

Oceanwide Sinks by Limit After Court Terminates Debt-Laden Chinese Firm’s Pre-Restructuring

Shares of Oceanwide Holdings slumped by the exchange-imposed daily trading limit after a Beijing court terminated the pre-restructuring procedures of the debt-ridden Chinese financial and real estate holding firm.

Oceanwide closed 5.4 percent down at RMB 0.88 ($0.12) in Shenzhen today. As a listed firm with delisting risk, Oceanwide has a daily trading limit of 5 percent instead of 10 percent. Read more>>

How Suspects Laundered Billions in Singapore for Years

Wang Dehai was already on the run when he made Singapore his home five years ago. Police in China were offering a bounty for information about him for his alleged role in an illegal gambling ring.

Once in Singapore, Wang and his wife set up a family office and he got an employment pass, giving him the right to stay in the city-state. They banked with Credit Suisse, and the couple got passports from the tax haven of Cyprus. Wang, 34, splurged on a S$23 million ($17.2 million) condominium in the prime Orchard area and held about $2.8 million in cryptocurrency. Read more>>

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