Soho Shares Sink 40% as Blackstone Deal Fails and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Soho China leads today’s roundup of regional news headlines, as the mainland developer’s shares dive in the wake of Blackstone’s failed buyout of the firm and the husband-and-wife team at the top take in the US Open women’s final to cushion the blow.

Soho China Shares Sink as Much as 40% as Blackstone Buyout Fails

Shares of Chinese office developer Soho China tumbled as much as 40 percent on Monday in their biggest daily drop since listing more than 14 years ago, after Blackstone Group scrapped what would have been China’s largest real estate buyout.

The stock fell to as low as HK$2.10 ($0.27) in its worst day since listing in October 2007. Soho China said Blackstone, which had offered HK$5 per share in June to buy all shares in the company, had abandoned the $3 billion deal on Friday as pre-conditions were unable to be satisfied. Read more>>

Soho’s Pan and Zhang Make a Stir With US Open Appearance

Soho China saw its deal to sell $3 billion in office properties to Blackstone blocked last week, but the Hong Kong-listed developer’s owners did not let the missed payday opportunity ruin their weekend, as chairman Pan Shiyi and his wife, Soho chief executive Zhang Xin, were sighted at the US Open tennis tournament.

Television coverage of the event in New York on Saturday captured the mainland power couple shaking off their defeat by watching Emma Raducanu’s victory over fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez for the women’s title. Read more>>

Evergrande Haircut of 75% Is Now a Base Case for Bond Analysts

China Evergrande Group may undergo one of the country’s biggest-ever debt restructurings, if the developer’s distressed-level bond prices are any indication.

It’s “almost unavoidable”, according to Nomura International Hong Kong credit analyst Iris Chen. Her base case is a government-supervised deal that ensures Evergrande delivers homes and pays suppliers, where dollar debt investors would get 25 percent of their money back. Read more>>

Singapore’s HThree City Makes Aussie Debut With $53M Melbourne Deal

A Singaporean investment house, HThree City Australia, has bought a midtown office tower on Melbourne’s Collins Street for A$72.6 million ($53 million), overcoming lockdowns and restrictions in both cities to strike its first Australian deal.

HThree’s chief executive, Kevin Kang, noted the effort on both sides to achieve a 10-week turnaround on the acquisition of 446 Collins Street despite the challenges. Read more>>

Frasers Singapore Project Sells 65% of Units on Launch Weekend

Buyers’ interest in the property market continued with the latest Parc Greenwich executive condominium seeing brisk sales on its launch weekend.

Some 65 percent of units — 322 out of a total of 496 available — were sold at an average price of $1,200 per square foot as of Sunday, said developer Frasers Property Singapore. Read more>>

Singapore New Private Home Sales Down 24% in August

New private home sales in Singapore slipped in August after hitting a six-month high the previous month. Based on caveats lodged, analysts estimated that developers in Singapore sold 1,211 new private homes in August, down 23.8 percent from July’s 1,589 units.

Despite the lower numbers, Ismail Gafoor, chief executive of PropNex, said last month’s sales were “relatively healthy”. Read more>>

Hong Kong Developers Post Another Strong Home Sales Weekend

Hong Kong’s buoyant home market continued to strengthen, as buyers bought 88 percent of the 455 flats on offer at three projects in one of the biggest sales weekends this year, putting the city on track to post a record September in sales.

Sun Hung Kai Properties, Hong Kong’s largest developer by capitalisation, posted a fourth consecutive weekend of bumper sales at its Wetland Seasons Bay project in Tin Shui Wai, selling all 212 apartments on offer, with 4,062 bidders vying for every available flat. At Wong Chuk Hang in the southern district of Hong Kong Island, Kerry Properties sold 185 flats at the La Marina project, a joint development with Sino Land and MTR Corporation. Read more>>

Seoul Q2 Office Prices Rose at Fastest Rate in 10 Years

Seoul office building prices rose at their strongest rate in 10 years in the second quarter of this year, driven by domestic investors, as the Seoul office market is seen as undervalued compared with the red-hot residential market.

The 8.7 percent quarterly rise in Seoul commercial property prices, mainly led by office buildings, also marked the fastest quarterly growth among global gateway cities in the April-June period, according to Real Capital Analytics. Read more>>

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