Ping An’s Peter Ma seems terrified at the thought of a Country Garden takeover
China’s Ping An leads today’s set of real estate headlines again with the insurer denying reports that it has been asked to take over developer Country Garden. Also in the news, Guangzhou’s Agile Group is selling a Malaysian project at a loss and KKR is set to exit an Australian logistics venture.
Ping An Says No Plans to Take Over Country Garden
Ping An Insurance Group said it doesn’t hold any shares in Country Garden Holdings and has no plans to acquire the distressed Chinese developer, refuting a report that sent the insurance giant’s stock tumbling on Wednesday.
The insurer said in a Shanghai Stock Exchange filing that it hasn’t received any suggestions or requests from any government agency to take over Country Garden, responding to a Reuters report that China’s State Council instructed the government of Guangdong province to ask Ping An to take a controlling stake in the developer. Read more>>
Agile Group Selling KL Residential Project at a Loss
Agile Group Holding on Wednesday said it has agreed to sell a residential development project in Kuala Lumpur to Law Development Sdn Bhd for MYR 310 million ($66 million).
The Guangzhou-based developer identified the target project as being located in Kuala Lumpur’s affluent Taman U-Thant district. Agile, which is struggling to pay off overdue debts, in May topped out its Agile Embassy Garden project in Taman U-Thant. The company said it had invested MYR 768 million in the project to date. Read more>>
KKR Said Exiting Aussie $288M Last Mile Logistics Portfolio
Property funds manager Centennial is looking for a fresh backer to recapitalise a A$450 million ($288.7 million) last-mile logistics portfolio, which private equity house KKR is exiting after three years.
The groups have tapped CBRE to bring in one or two new institutions to back the portfolio of nearly 20 assets in eastern seaboard capital cities. Read more>>
Singapore Faces First Rental Slump in Four Years
The longest rally in Singapore’s housing rents in a decade may be coming to an end. Singapore’s residential rents may decline as much as 10 percent in 2024 after rising up to 15 percent this year, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Ken Foong said in a report on Wednesday. He said the drop may be even greater if the macro-economy worsens or a crisis emerges.
Twice as many new homes were built in 2023 compared with the previous year as construction bottlenecks eased after the pandemic, he wrote. Running down this supply will take time, as it’s above the annual average in the 10 years before. More new homes coming onto the market next year will also suppress rents. Read more>>
Oaktree Seeks More Opportunities in China Loans Including Property
Oaktree Capital Group continues to look for opportunities in China’s loan market, said co-chairman Howard Marks, even as global investors remain concerned about the country’s investability.
The US investment firm has been a “steady investor” in Chinese loans since 2015, Marks said in an interview during a financial summit hosted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority on Tuesday. He described the results of those investments as “very satisfactory”. Read more>>
China’s Aoyuan Healthy Life Changes Name
Aoyuan Healthy Life Group said on Wednesday that it plans to change its name to Starjoy Wellness and Travel Company Limited to better reflect its business strategy and future development.
The company is the property management affiliate of Guangzhou developer China Aoyuan Group, which sold a stake in Aoyuan Healthy Life earlier this year. Last month the company named a new chairman and reshuffled its board. Read more>>
Prime US REIT Reports Q3 Distributable Income of $14.7M
The manager of Prime US REIT has reported a lower income available for distribution of $14.7 million for the quarter ended 30 September, 23.4 percent lower than the figure in the same period the year before.
This was due to $1.6 million higher finance expenses on the back of rising interest rates and the absence of lease termination income added back to distributable income, compared with $1.3 million recorded in the year-earlier quarter. Read more>>
Ex-Blackstone Credit Veteran Targets Singapore Mortgage Market
Former Blackstone executive Kishore Moorjani has started a digital platform in Singapore selling pools of home loans to asset managers and financial firms seeking to bolster local currency fixed-income assets.
The company, known as LXA, is initially aiming to manage about $250 million in mortgages, and plans to expand to other markets such as Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan over the next few years, Moorjani said. The firm has $10 million in seed money from backers including New Enterprise Associates, Openspace Ventures and Singapore Economic Development Board Investment. Read more>>
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