Ying Li International CEO Hu Bing has been detained in connection with a bribery investigation
Key person risk in China leads today’s real estate headlines from around the region, as a Singapore-listed mainland developer reveals that its chief executive has been detained by Beijing authorities in relation to a bribery investigation.
Also in the news, a consortium involving a unit of Shanghai real estate conglomerate Greenland Group has won the rights to offer digital wholesale banking services in Singapore, and India’s largest publicly listed developer is taking aim at the Mumbai and Chennai housing markets.
Ying Li International CEO Detained in Bribery Scandal
Chinese property developer Ying Li International Real Estate said its group chief executive officer and executive director Hu Bing was detained by the authorities in Beijing on Dec 4 “due to his involvement in suspected bribery”.
Mr Hu will cease as group CEO, executive director and a nominating committee member of the company with immediate effect, the mainboard-listed firm said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Monday morning (Dec 7). Read more>>
Greenland Consortium Among Winners of SG Digital Banking Licenses
A consortium comprising Greenland Financial Holdings Group, Linklogis Hong Kong Ltd, and Beijing Co-operative Equity Investment Fund Management, along with a unit of China’s Ant Group, have been selected to receive the digital wholesale bank (DWB) licences in Singapore.
With this, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has chosen to select just two out of the three licences it could have granted to applicants. Read more>>
China Evergrande Says Sales Up 24% in November
China Evergrande Group, one of the country’s leading developers, reported surging sales last month, the company said in a statement. Its contracted sales in November totaled 46.07 billion yuan (about 7.03 billion U.S. dollars), up 24.3 percent year on year, according to the company.
Meanwhile, its contracted sales in terms of floor area rose 31.7 percent year on year to 5.09 million square meters in the same month. Read more>>
India’s DLF Takes Aim at Mumbai, Chennai Residential Markets
DLF, the country’s largest listed developer, could again diversify into residential-property markets such as Mumbai and Chennai after focusing on its home turf, the National Capital Region (NCR).
The developer started concentrating on Delhi-NCR after selling some of its land parcels in cities such as Mumbai in 2012 to reduce debt. Read more>>
Chinese Backers of Failed Fiji Casino Seek Refund on $35M Development
The developers who caused an environmental disaster on an idyllic Fijian island are now being pursued by investors, with some fearing the barely begun development is part of an elaborate scam.
About 200 investors are out of pocket after the Fijian government stopped the planned 370-bure resort and casino on Malolo Island – which would have been Fiji’s largest – from going ahead, after Newsroom revealed the Chinese backed developers had caused serious environmental damage. The project was described at the time as “environmental vandalism”. Read more>>
Hong Kong Lockdown Dents Weekend Home Sales
Hong Kong’s streak of sell-out weekends of residential property ended when two developers sold fewer than a third of the combined 212 flats on offer in two districts, as the city’s strictest social distancing measures to date dampened sentiments.
MinMetals Land, the real estate subsidiary of one of China’s largest metallurgical producers, sold 60 of 161 apartments at its Montego Bay project in Yau Tong as of 5:30pm, sales agents said. In Yuen Long, Road King failed to find a single buyer for the 51 flats at its Crescent Green project. Read more>>
Mortgages on Hong Kong Homes Expected to Dip to Four-Year Low
The amount of home loans extended to buyers in Hong Kong is expected to drop to a four-year low this year, as a result of the Covid-19 induced economic recession, which has hit investment demand hard and stalled home sales.
Home loans are expected to drop to HK$290 billion (US$37.4 billion), according to an estimate by Mreferral Mortgage Brokerage Services, and HK$296 billion, according to Centaline Mortgage Broker, from HK$341 billion last year. The total amount of home loans stood at HK$217.4 billion in 2016. Read more>>
Project Near SG’s Holland Village Sold 143 Homes on Saturday
Ki Residences at Brookvale, the condo by Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Development, has sold 143 out of 660 units at an average price of S$1,790 psf, through a virtual booking exercise on Saturday.
The 999-year leasehold development comprises a 12- storey mid-rise condominium located at the Sunset Way Estate in District 21, near Bukit Timah Road and Holland Village lifestyle hub. Read more>>
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Note: A previous version of this story used an incorrect picture of former Ying Li International CEO Hu Bing. The story has been updated to include Hu’s image. Mingtiandi regrets the error.
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