WeWork HK flagship location has officially left Causeway Bay today
In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, co-working pioneer WeWork plans to shrink its Hong Kong footprint by more than half, mainland developer China Vanke seeks to shore up its failing liability-to-asset ratio, and Singapore home prices show faster growth, raising the spectre of state-imposed curbs.
WeWork Shuts Down HK Flagship Location in Causeway Bay
WeWork, the US real estate company that spearheaded the popularity of co-working space, will shrink its property footprint in Hong Kong by more than half, as it continues to strive for profitability after losing $3.2 billion 2020.
The company has abandoned its flagship location in Causeway Bay’s Tower 535 where it first opened in Hong Kong in 2016, according to people familiar with the matter. The surrender of the 90,000 square foot (8,361 square metre) space across eight floors at Tower 535 in Causeway Bay, will reduce the financially troubled firm’s portfolio in Hong Kong by 56 percent to 360,000 square feet after a series of earlier closings in the city. Read more>>
Vanke Deleverages to Meet ‘Three Red Lines’
China Vanke aims to further deleverage to meet Beijing’s “three red lines” policy in the first quarter.
The developer’s liability-to-asset ratio came in at 70.4 percent, failing to meet the three red lines, while the other two indicators, net gearing ratio (18.1 percent) and ratio of cash to short-term debt (1.8 times) were compliant. Read more>>
Singapore Home Price Growth Quickens, Stoking Worries of Curbs
Singapore home prices grew at a faster pace in the first quarter, stoking concerns that the government could join other nations that are introducing measures to calm the property market.
Private property values increased 2.9 percent in the three months ended 31 March, preliminary figures from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed Thursday. That’s the biggest gain since the second quarter of 2018. Read more>>
Evergrande Diversifies in Bid to Satisfy Beijing’s ‘Red Lines’
China Evergrande, China’s biggest homebuilder, said it is transforming itself into a diversified conglomerate as the central government clamps down on the heavily indebted real estate industry.
“We are not the Evergrande we used to be,” said company chairman Hui Ka-yan, the 14th-richest person in China. “The new Evergrande is no longer just a property company, but a conglomerate hosting diversified businesses and technologies.” Read more>>
Flats in Hong Kong’s Sai Ying Pun Priced From $6.8M
Regal Hotels International opened the price list for the first batch of The Queens in Sai Ying Pun, involving 50 units with an average price of HK$30,299 ($3,896) per square foot.
That is nearly 10 percent more expensive than Henderson Land Development’s Two Artlane in the same district, launched in September. Read more>>
Hong Kong Tenants Welcome Rent Control Task Force
Tenants of Hong Kong’s subdivided flats have welcomed the idea of keeping their rent levels under control, but they say they struggle to understand how the mechanism will work and feel that a maximum rent increase of 15 percent is too high.
The task force’s report, released on Wednesday, suggests that to keep rents in check under the future legislation, subdivided flats should be brought under rent control arrangements tied to an existing official index that reflects the general residential market. Read more>>
Hong Kong Landlord Splits Up Prime Retail Space as Shopping Suffers
A Hong Kong landlord, unable to find a tenant for a large space in one of the world’s most expensive shopping districts, is splitting it into smaller units in a bid to lease them out since losing Prada last June. And one of the units is 40 percent cheaper than a similar space leased less than a week ago in the next building.
Early Light Group, owned by billionaire Francis Choi Chee Ming, is partitioning the ground floor space in Plaza 2000 on Russell Street in Causeway Bay into four units, the smallest of which is 148 square feet (13.7 square metres). He owns 20,000 square feet of space spread over four levels and has not been able to find any takers since Prada closed its flagship store in June 2020. Read more>>
Ho Bee Offers Sales Incentives on Last 16 Sentosa Homes
Singapore-listed Ho Bee Land has released its 16 remaining units for sale at the six-storey, high-end condo Turquoise in Sentosa Cove.
After a promotional discount ranging from S$500,000 to S$750,000 ($371,327 to $556,991) per unit, prices are said to be in the range of S$1,290 to S$1,536 per square foot, which is equivalent to prices of suburban, 99-year leasehold condominiums today. Sentosa Cove, however, is Singapore’s premier waterfront residential enclave, and part of the Core Central Region. Read more>>
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