Court Freezes Tianjin Developer Assets and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Unpaid debt leads the way in Mingtiandi’s roundup of Asia real estate headlines today with the news that a court has frozen assets belonging to a Chinese state-owned developer after it defaulted on RMB 1.7 billion ($240 million) in debt.

In other news around the region, a cash-strapped mainland China conglomerate has pronounced that the company is in a “state of war” as it battles to stay afloat, while a property firm from Singapore sells a London office building for £55 million ($71 million). Elsewhere, a Hong Kong property group controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Peter Woo has warned of a looming price war as the coronavirus outbreak chokes home sales.

Tianjin State-owned Developer Misses RMB 1.7B Debt Payment

Tianjin Real Estate Group, a cash-strapped Chinese state-owned developer, has missed another debt payment in its struggle to stay afloat, causing creditors to freeze one of its prime assets and stoking concerns about its maturing debt pile this year.

The group’s 13.53 percent stake in Shanghai-listed builder Tianjin Realty Development has been frozen for three years under a court order from February 24, builder said in an exchange filing on Tuesday. Read more>>

Over 100 Property Firms Go Bust in China as Virus Strains Deepen

The coronavirus epidemic is accelerating a shakeout in China’s property sector as a cash crunch forces distressed developers to throw in the towel.

With lockdowns across the world’s most-populous nation entering their third month, smaller home builders are being pushed to the brink because they can’t get enough money from pre-sales of apartments to cover their costs. Read more>>

Singapore Builder Sells London Office Block for £55M

Singapore-listed builder Lum Chang Holdings’ 70 per cent-owned subsidiary, UK Property Investment, has sold a freehold London office building for £54.8 million (S$98.7 million) in cash, the company said in a bourse filing on Wednesday.

The consideration was arrived at following arm’s length negotiations, based on the adjusted unaudited net asset value of the unit trust which owns the property, 130 Wood Street Unit Trust, and takes into account the agreed value property of £55.2 million. Read more>>

Singapore Condo Market Slips in February

Resale prices and sales of non-landed private homes in Singapore were hit last month from what one market observer called a “triple whammy” of the coronavirus, the Chinese New Year seasonal slowdown and supply of new units from recent launches.

As a result, prices of resale homes in February slipped 0.8 per cent from January while sales volume fell 13.1 percent, according to flash data released by real estate portal SRX Property on Tuesday. Read more>>

Jardine Matheson Still Open to Big Bets in China

For China and its neighbours, February 20 was a bad day towards the end of a very bad month at the start of what is proving to be a terrible year.

On that day, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in South Korea increased 50 per cent, one of the first indications that the outbreak originating in central China was becoming a global epidemic. Read more>>

Wharf Warns of Brewing Price War in Mainland China

Wharf Holdings said a price war in the mainland China market is brewing because builders are desperate to improve cash flow after the coronavirus outbreak choked home sales this year.

The property and logistics group, controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Peter Woo Kwong-ching, is cautious about adding to its 3.6 million square metre land bank in the world’s second largest economy, after calling its business this year a “washout,” with sales having crashed by more than 50 per cent since the start of the year. Read more>>

HNA in “State of War” Amid Liquidity Crisis

China’s HNA Group will work to increase cashflow and resolve liquidity difficulties as business operations resume, its newly appointed executive chairman said on Tuesday as the firm battles with the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.

The cash-strapped conglomerate will treat creditors and capital markets with honesty and respect, and will not hide from any issues, Gu Gang told an internal meeting, according to a post on the company’s official WeChat account. Read more>>

Tune in again tomorrow for more news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.

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