In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, a fading fashion tycoon loses an office floor in Hong Kong’s Central as receivers shop the property, and China’s central bank will reportedly dangle cheap loans as an incentive to buy developer bonds.
Fashion Tycoon Set to Lose Prime Hong Kong Property Worth $64M
A fashion tycoon who once hoped to build an empire billed as China’s version of LVMH has lost a prime office property and three car-parking spaces in Hong Kong’s Central district, as a receiver is now seeking to sell the portfolio for HK$500 million ($64 million), according to sources familiar with the matter.
The receiver has appointed international property agent Savills to sell the 13,880 square foot (1,289 square metre) 23rd floor of Bank of America Tower, along with three parking spaces, the property agency said Wednesday. Read more>>
China Central Bank to Offer Cheap Loans to Support Developers’ Bonds
China’s central bank will offer cheap loans to financial firms for buying bonds issued by property developers, four people with direct knowledge of the matter said, the strongest policy support yet for the crisis-hit sector.
The People’s Bank of China hopes the loans will boost market sentiment towards the heavily indebted property sector, which has lurched from crisis to crisis over the past year, and rescue a number of private developers, said the people, who asked not to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Read more>>
Lendlease and Partners Complete Sydney’s Tallest Office Tower
Australia’s Lendlease, China’s Ping An Real Estate and Japan’s Mitsubishi Estate Asia on Thursday completed Sydney Place, which — at 55 floors and 263 metres (863 feet) — is the city’s tallest office.
Sydney Place contains 56,000 square metres (602,779 square feet) of lettable area. Foster+Partners penned the structure, otherwise known as the Salesforce Tower, after an anchor tenant, at 180 George Street. Read more>>
KKR, EQT, PAG Vie for $10B Global Switch Deal: Sources
Buyout firms EQT, KKR and PAG are the final bidders seeking to acquire data centre company Global Switch Holdings, according to people familiar with the matter.
The investment firms are evaluating different financing structures as they weigh binding offers for the London-based company, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Initial bids were not aligned with the valuation expectations of Global Switch’s owners, and financing markets for leveraged buyouts are expensive, both of which remain hurdles to any potential deal, the people said. Read more>>
Billionaire Investor Ackman Bets Hong Kong Dollar Peg Can Break
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman said he’s betting the Hong Kong dollar will fall and that its peg to the US dollar can break, the latest big money manager to take a public short bet as US rate hikes turn the blowtorch on Hong Kong’s currency system.
“We have a large notional short position against the Hong Kong dollar through the ownership of put options,” he said on Twitter. “The peg no longer makes sense for Hong Kong and it is only a matter of time before it breaks.” Read more>>
China South City Holdings Issues Profit Warning
Hong Kong-listed China South City Holdings informed shareholders Thursday that the group’s profit for the fiscal first half would record a year-on-year drop of about 60 percent.
Reasons for the expected decrease in profit include a decline in the delivery of properties and hence declining revenue from property sales during the period as the COVID-19 pandemic continued. Read more>>
Tanjong Katong, Clementi Housing Sites, Bukit Panjang EC Plot for Sale
Three residential sites have been launched for sale under Singapore’s government land sales programme.
Launched by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the Jalan Tembusu site is the largest of the three, with an area of 20,572.1 square metres (221,436 square feet) and a maximum gross floor area of 72,003 square metres. It could yield about 825 units, based on a maximum height of between 80 and 85 metres (262 and 279 feet). Read more>>
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