OUE Warns of Six-Month Loss on Gemdale Hit and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

OUE leads Mingtiandi’s headline roundup today as the Singapore-listed builder expects to swing to a first-half net loss. Also making the news, China pledges to accelerate cheaper homes and defaulted developer CFLD tries a novel approach to resolving its debt.

SGX-Listed OUE Warns of H1 Loss on Investment in China’s Gemdale

Singapore-listed developer OUE expects to record a net loss for the first six months ended 30 June, reversing a net profit of S$40.2 million ($29.8 million) in the same period last year.

The group attributed its performance to estimated losses from an investee company in which OUE owns 25.2 percent. The company’s business in China was adversely affected by the prevailing slowdown in the property market and the current economic environment there, OUE said in a bourse filing on Friday. Read more>>

China Vows to Accelerate Affordable Housing Initiatives

China’s ruling Communist Party pledged to accelerate a new housing model that emphasises renting and ramps up affordable homes, following a record property slump.

The party’s Central Committee said the new model will promote both renting and buying, in line with its call made since 2017, according to a resolution published by the official Xinhua news agency on Sunday. China will also build and supply more affordable residences to meet the needs of working-class people, the top leadership said after a key meeting in Beijing. Read more>>

Mystery Company Buys Up China Developer’s Debt at 90% Discount

The source of the money is shrouded in mystery. But a major Chinese developer appears to be trying a novel approach to resolving its debt: it is working with a buyer to purchase bonds at deeply discounted prices, then cancelling the securities.

The moves by China Fortune Land Development, whose default in 2021 marked the beginning of the country’s property crisis, are the latest twist in a debt debacle that has left more than $140 billion in real estate bonds in default and become a massive drag on the world’s second-largest economy. Read more>>

Singapore Encouraging Rental Housing Projects for Seniors

With Singapore’s fast-ageing society headed towards an impending shortage in senior-friendly housing, a market in alternative accommodation for the elderly is opening up.

One initiative in the works is silver co-living projects, where industry operators have indicated interest, said the Singapore Land Authority. Read more>>

China’s Government Land Sale Revenue Falls 18% in First Half

China’s government posted an extended decline in land sales revenue in the first half of 2024, finance ministry data showed Monday.

Revenue from government land sales fell 18.3 percent year-on-year, compared with a 14 percent drop in the first five months of the year. Read more>>

StanChart-Backed Bohai Bank Selling $3.5B in Loans at a Discount

China Bohai Bank, partly owned by Standard Chartered, proposed to sell $3.5 billion worth of assets at a discount to bidders including the nation’s bad debt managers to shore up capital levels.

The assets, with a principal amount of RMB 25.6 billion ($3.5 billion), will be disposed of in a public tender to potential bidders, including China’s Big Four bad banks led by China Cinda Asset Management, according to an exchange filing on Monday. Read more>>

Local Developer Said to Make Offer for L.A.’s Oceanwide Plaza

A trio of half-completed, graffiti-covered skyscrapers in downtown Los Angeles has become one of the world’s most notoriously stalled real estate projects. Now a buyer has emerged to give it new life.

The Chinese developer of Oceanwide Plaza, designed as a luxury residential complex with a Park Hyatt hotel and high-end retail shops, spent more than $1 billion on the project before running into financial trouble and stopping work in 2019. Read more>>

Brookfield and China Life Win Extension on London Tower Financing

A joint venture of Brookfield and China Life has received a five-month extension to debt secured against an office tower on the City of London fringe while the JV arranges a longer-term refinancing.

Investors that bought bonds secured against a loan to the 324K SF Aldgate Tower on the eastern edge of the City were told last Thursday that an extension to January 2025 had been granted. The loan was originally scheduled to mature on 20 July. Read more>>