Evergrande boss Xu Jiayin finds the Beijing authorities aren’t finished with him yet (Getty Images)
The poster child for China’s real estate crisis leads Mingtiandi’s headline roundup again today, with Beijing authorities fining Evergrande $576 million for fraud. JD.com also makes the news with the postponement of a Hong Kong IPO and China home prices rise slightly following the announcement of ‘historic’ support measures.
China Evergrande Fined $576M
China’s deeply indebted property giant Evergrande has been fined $576 million for fraudulent business practices, Beijing’s top financial regulator said Friday.
Evergrande was once China’s biggest real estate firm, a powerhouse in a sector that helped propel the country’s rapid economic growth during recent decades. China’s Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said Friday that, between 2019 and 2020, the firm “falsely increased its revenue and profit by prematurely recognising revenue, resulting in the fraudulent issuance of bonds publicly offered on the exchange market”. Read more>>
JD Property IPO Postponed in Hong Kong
E-commerce firm JD.com’s property unit is reportedly postponing its listing plan in Hong Kong due to slumping sentiment for China’s property sector, while its industrial unit is still moving forward with its plan for an initial public offering in the city.
Last year, JD.com said it was planning to spin off Jingdong Property and Jingdong Industrials by listing both companies in the city, with media reports of a fundraising target of $1 billion for each firm at that time. Read more>>
China Home Prices Rose Slightly in May Following Policy Support
New home prices in China rose slightly for a ninth month in May, a private survey showed, driven higher by a slew of supportive steps to prop up the nation’s crisis-hit property sector.
The average new home price across 100 cities rose 0.25 percent on month in May, following a 0.27 percent gain in April, the data from real estate researcher China Index Academy showed on Saturday. China announced “historic” steps in mid-May to stabilise the sector, with the central bank easing mortgage rules and facilitating RMB 1 trillion ($140 billion) in extra funding, and local governments committing to buying apartments. Read more>>
Hong Kong Home Sales Fell in May as Impact of Policy Shift Fades
Hong Kong’s residential property market seems to have burned through a burst of activity that followed the removal of cooling measures in late February, as high inventory levels and interest rates conspire to return short-term buying sentiment to a more normal level.
“In the aftermath of the government’s decision to dial back cooling measures, initial market enthusiasm has shown signs of dampening,” JLL said in a report on Thursday. While market participants had projected a robust increase in transaction volume and price, data suggests the market is losing steam. Read more>>
Keppel Opens First Senior Living Facility in Nanjing
Keppel has officially opened its first senior-living facility in Asia, a project in Nanjing, China, that kicks off the company’s expansion plans for the region.
The Nanjing facility is Keppel’s flagship project for Sindora Living, the asset manager’s senior-living brand and operating platform for Asia and will serve as a “launchpad” for Keppel’s expansion into other senior-living markets in the region, Louis Lim, chief executive for real estate at Keppel, said on Friday. Read more>>
Country Garden VC Division Said Mulling Sale of Chipmaker Stake
As Chinese property developer Country Garden Holdings Co. struggles under a mountain of debt, its venture capital arm is considering selling its stake in a chipmaker that may become a target of US sanctions.
Country Garden Venture Capital is seeking about RMB 2 billion ($276 million) for its undisclosed stake in ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. Read more>>
Korea’s NPS Plans to Boost Allocations to Higher-Yielding Investments
South Korea’s national pension fund will continue to raise the ratio of risky assets and increase alternative investments, the welfare ministry said on Friday.
By end-2029, the National Pension Service (NPS) will allocate 55 percent of its total assets to stocks, 30 percent to bonds, and 15 percent to alternative investments, with the investment earnings target for the next five years set at 5.4 percent, according to the ministry. Read more>>
China Vows to Press On With Evergrande Investigations
China’s market regulator vowed to press ahead with a probe into “intermediary agencies” involved in an alleged fraud by China Evergrande Group.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission on Friday formally announced it will impose a RMB 4.18 billion ($577 million) fine on Evergrande’s onshore unit Hengda. The regulator cited the unit’s fraudulent bond issuance and violations on information disclosures, according to a statement. 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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