CIFI’s Shanghai headquarters is less happy place these days
Henderson Land leads today’s collection of real estate headlines from around the region with the blue-chip Hong Kong developer buying out a half-stake in a Guangzhou project from its long-term partner CIFI Holdings. Also in the news, defaulting Beijing developer Sunshine 100 discovers $151 million in previously undisclosed borrowing and Moody’s gets negative on some of China’s biggest state-owned developers.
Henderson Buys Half-Stake in CIFI Guangzhou Project for $33M
Shanghai-based developer CIFI Holdings said this week that it is selling a 50 percent stake in a Guangzhou development project to a unit of Hong Kong’s Henderson Land.
In an announcement to the Hong Kong stock exchange, CIFI, which earlier defaulted on offshore bond obligations, said it has sold to the interest in the Guangzhou Changguang to Henderson for RMB 240.3 million ($33 million). Read more>>
Sunshine 100 Admits $151M in Undisclosed Loans, Resumes Trading on HKEX
Defaulting mainland developer Sunshine 100 resumed trading on the HKEX on 21 September after the company released financial results for 2021, 2022 and the first half of this year.
The company said that its new auditors had noted RMB 1.1 billion ($151 million) in previously undisclosed borrowing by the company from December 2020 through November 2022. Two of the loans were guaranteed by the company’s Netcom Building in Beijing, which had not been previously disclosed. Sunshine 100 shares are now down 40 percent since the resumption of trading. Read more>>
Moody’s Revises Outlook on Four Chinese SOE Developers to ‘Negative’
Ratings agency Moody’s on Thursday (Sep 21) revised its outlook on four Chinese real estate firms to “negative” from “stable”, as the country’s property sector reels from mounting debt. The agency’s action comes just a week after it revised the outlook on the country’s crisis-hit property sector to “negative”, citing growth-related challenges.
The outlook change on real estate firms reflects uncertainties over their ability to achieve stable operating performance and credit metrics to support its ratings over the next 12-18 months, Moody’s said in separate statements. Read more>>
China Bans Housing Pre-Sales in Xiong’an in Potential Pilot Policy
China is road testing a new property policy in an experimental city President Xi Jinping is building outside Beijing to try to stabilize a housing market rocked by an ongoing credit crisis.
All homes in the Xiong’an New District, which is about 80.8 miles (130 kilometers) southwest of Beijing, must be built before they can be sold, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday, citing the city’s housing administration department. Read more>>
Singapore Banks Tighten Scrutiny of Chinese With Other Passports
Singapore banks are increasing scrutiny of some Chinese-born clients with other citizenships, following last month’s crackdown on money laundering involving more than S$2.4 billion ($1.75 billion) worth of assets that has rattled the Asian financial hub.
Some lenders have been reviewing new account openings and transactions with clients of Chinese origin carrying investment-linked passports, people with knowledge of the matter said. At least one international bank is closing some accounts of clients with citizenship from countries including Cambodia, Cyprus, Turkey and Vanuatu, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Read more>>
Sunac Stake in Services Unit to Fall Below 50% in Restructuring Deal
Sunac China Holdings said on Thursday its stake in its unit Sunac Services will drop to 49.7 percent, as part of a restructuring plan that will allow the company’s creditors to exchange their existing debt for equity in the property management subsidiary.
Sunac added that Sunac Services will remain its subsidiary, despite the lowered stake. The Chinese property development and management group earlier this week obtained approval from its creditors for the $9 billion offshore debt restructuring plan, marking the first approval of such debt overhaul by a major Chinese property developer. Read more>>
Hong Kong Govt Records Show Henderson Moving Forward with Projects
The Buildings Department approved 19 building plans in July, with Henderson Land Development getting the green light to build a mixed commercial and residential building in Wan Chai.
Henderson Land’s redevelopment projects for older buildings also received approval. One notable project is the redevelopment of an old building at 13-21 Wood Road and 22-30 Wing Cheung Street in Wan Chai, acquired earlier this year for HK$300 million ($38 million) This project has been greenlit for the construction of a 27-story residential/commercial mixed-use building with a total floor area of about 86,000 square feet (7,990 square meter). Read more>>
UBS Cuts Nearly 70% of Credit Suisse Researchers in Hong Kong
UBS has cut around 70 percent of the Hong Kong-based staff headcount at Credit Suisse’s securities research unit, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, as the two Swiss banking giants move ahead with integration of operations.
UBS’ takeover of Credit Suisse, the biggest bank merger since the 2008 global financial crisis, was hastily arranged in March this year by Swiss authorities to avert Credit Suisse’s collapse. As part of the integration process, UBS decided to absorb Credit Suisse’s Securities Research service this month, wrapping the business into its own research operations, Reuters reported on Sept. 5. Read more>>
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