Evergrande Wealth Management Staff Arrested and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, Shenzhen cops detain staff at China Evergrande’s wealth management unit, and CDL’s First Sponsor Group acquires a Netherlands office tower. Also making the list are shadow bank Zhongrong’s state-directed bailout and Country Garden’s latest bond extension vote delay.

Chinese Police Detain Evergrande Wealth Management Staff

Police in a southern Chinese city say they have detained some staff at China Evergrande’s wealth management unit in the latest trouble for the heavily indebted developer.

A statement by the Shenzhen police on Saturday said authorities “took criminal coercive measures against suspects including Du and others in the financial wealth management (Shenzhen) company under Evergrande Group”. It’s unclear who Du was; media reports about investors’ protests at the Evergrande headquarters in Shenzhen in 2021 had listed a person called Du Liang as head of the company’s wealth management unit. Read more>>

CDL Affiliate First Sponsor and Units Acquire Rotterdam Property for $66M

Singapore-listed First Sponsor Group and its units, together with partners comprising three high-net-worth individuals, have acquired an office building in Rotterdam at an agreed commercial value of €62 million ($66.2 million).

On Monday, the affiliate of City Developments Ltd said the value excludes debt and the cost for certain capex works and inspection works for the property. The leasehold property is Allianz Tower, an office building in the Dutch port city with a net lettable floor area of 19,607 square metres (211,048 square feet). Read more>>

Troubled Shadow Bank Zhongrong Gets Help From China State Giants

An embattled Chinese shadow bank has taken a step closer to receiving potential state-led assistance, entering a partnership agreement with two of the nation’s biggest financial firms.

About a month after Zhongrong International Trust missed payments on scores of investment products, roiling markets, it’s now signed an agreement with CITIC Trust Co, a unit of conglomerate CITIC Group, and CCB Trust Co, backed by China Construction Bank, the firm said Friday night. Read more>>

Country Garden Delays Onshore Bond Extension Vote a Third Time

Distressed developer Country Garden Holdings left investors grappling for more information after it again delayed a deadline for voting on its request to extend payment on a bond, underscoring a broader lack of transparency amid the nation’s property debt crisis.

Voting was extended to 10pm Beijing time Monday from Thursday, according to a noteholder briefed by one of the underwriting banks. That’s the third time Country Garden has delayed the deadline. The bond has RMB 492 million ($67.6 million) of outstanding principal due on 21 October, its largest near-term maturity, unless holders agree to stretch repayment by three years. Read more>>

Sino-Ocean Sinks After Halting Offshore Bond Payment to Launch Debt Restructuring

Shares of Sino-Ocean Group Holding plunged after the developer said it had suspended the payment of all its offshore debts to carry out a thorough restructuring of its offshore debts, as it faces unprecedented liquidity pressures.

Sino-Ocean’s shares fell 12.1 percent in Hong Kong on Friday. Read more>>

OK Lim’s Third Avenue Mansion for Sale at S$30M

Another Good Class Bungalow belonging to Hin Leong founder Lim Oon Kuin, better known as OK Lim, has been put up for sale by public tender with an indicative guide price of S$30 million ($22 million), or about S$2,058 per square foot.

Spanning a total gross floor area of 10,000 square feet (929 square metres), the property sits on a 14,576 square foot plot and is located at 20 Third Avenue in Singapore’s Bukit Timah area. Read more>>

Hong Kong Home Prices Seen Falling 5% as Key Lenders Hike Mortgage Rates

Hong Kong home prices are set to fall by about 5 percent by the end of this year, analysts say, after seven major lenders, including the three note-issuing banks — HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of China (Hong Kong) — said they would raise their mortgage rates as early as Monday.

The trio, together with Hang Seng Bank and Bank of East Asia, will increase mortgage rates for new loan applications by 50 basis points on Monday, while Citibank will make a similar increase on Wednesday, the lenders’ spokesmen told the South China Morning Post. Read more>>

Why Bombay Dyeing’s $626M Worli Land Sale Isn’t Expensive

Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Co’s decision to sell 22 acres (8.9 hectares) in Worli in central Mumbai for INR 5,200 crore ($626 million) is one of India’s largest land deals. Yet, according to real estate experts, the transaction isn’t expensive.

The Wadia Group-owned company will sell the parcel to a subsidiary of Japan-based developer Sumitomo Realty and Development. According to Gulam Zia, executive director at Knight Frank India, a land deal of this magnitude would be one of the largest not just in Mumbai, but across India. Read more>>

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