In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, Swire Pacific’s Hong Kong-listed shares rally after the group announces a $500 million buyback, US-based Barings inks a deal to acquire Australian firm Altis Property Partners, and a think tank with Beike ties walks back a report on China’s housing vacancy rates.
Swire Pacific Announces $500M Share Buyback, Stock Surges
Swire Pacific announced a HK$4 billion ($509 million) share buyback on Thursday after reporting strong underlying earnings for the first half of 2022.
The move spurred a 7 percent rally in the conglomerate’s primary Hong Kong-listed shares. A secondary listing on the HKEX also jumped in a similar range. Read more>>
Beike-Linked Research Firm Apologises for Vacancy Rate Report
A Chinese property think tank owned by KE Holdings apologised on Thursday for sparking a “heated public discussion” with its report on rising housing vacancy rates in China and said its assessment may not be sufficiently accurate.
The apology comes at a time when policymakers are urging banks to extend loans to property firms and local governments are relaxing down payment rules for home purchases as sales and confidence sag amid weak macroeconomic conditions. Read more>>
Barings to Buy Australian Private Equity Real Estate Firm Altis
US asset manager Barings has signed a share sale agreement to acquire 100 percent of Altis Property Partners, an Australian private equity real estate firm, Barings announced Thursday without disclosing the deal price.
The acquisition, expected to be completed in September, will add A$6.079 billion ($4.3 billion) in assets under management to Barings’ $48.9 billion real estate portfolio, the company said. Read more>>
OUE’s H1 Earnings Nearly Treble on Investment Gains
Singapore-listed developer OUE Ltd posted first-half earnings of S$88.7 million (now $64.8 million), nearly trebling its year-earlier result.
The increase was partially due to higher marked-to-market, fair-value gains on investments designated at fair value through profit or loss. Read more>>
Longfor Shares Rebound After Developer Denies Default Rumour
Shares of Longfor Group Holdings surged in early trading on Thursday after the Chinese developer denied rumours that it had missed payment on commercial paper.
Longfor shares rose by as much as 11 percent in Hong Kong on Thursday morning. On Wednesday, the stock had slumped 16 percent in its worst day on record, reaching its lowest level in nearly four years on the default rumour. Read more>>
Real Estate Deals Help Straits Trading to 449% Profit Jump
Strong contributions from the real estate segment has propelled The Straits Trading Company to post a net profit of S$673 million ($491 million) for the first half of this year, up by 448.9 per cent or roughly 5.5 times the S$122.6 million net profit posted in the year-ago period.
The real estate segment delivered a net profit of S$676.1 million in H1 2022, up from S$125.4 million previously mainly contributed by net gain on the disposal of the Group’s stake in ARA Asset Management to ESR Group, according to the SGX-listed group’s results announced on Thursday (Aug 11). Read more>>
Farrer Road’s Sutton Place Up for En Bloc Sale at S$285M
Sutton Place at 24, 26 and 28 Farrer Road in Singapore’s prime District 10 has been put up for collective sale via public tender at an indicative price of S$285 million ($208 million).
Marketed by Colliers, the freehold Sutton Place is a five-storey residential development comprising 44 units on a site measuring 93,183 square feet (8,657 square metres). Read more>>
Trendale Tower Up for Sale Again With Higher Guide Price
Residential site Trendale Tower has been put up for sale again, this time with a higher guide price of S$178 million ($130 million) via a public tender exercise, exclusive marketing agent Savills Singapore said Thursday.
Situated at 79 Cairnhill Road, the freehold 20-storey development houses 18 apartments of 298 square metres (3,208 square feet) each, which works out to S$2,386 per plot ratio after factoring in the 7 percent bonus gross floor area for balconies. Read more>>
Tune in again soon for more real estate news and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.
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