Country Garden Makes 11th-Hour Coupon Payments and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, Country Garden narrowly avoids default on a pair of offshore bonds, and asset managers flog their Hong Kong buildings as mortgage payments threaten to overtake rental income. Also making the cut are “overinvested” China and the City of London’s tumbling office property values.

Country Garden Dodges Another Default in Relief for Property Sector

China’s Country Garden made interest payments on US dollar bonds hours ahead of a grace period deadline, a person close to the firm said, pulling back from the brink of default for the second time in four days and bringing some relief to the country’s crisis-hit property sector.

China’s largest private developer failed to pay coupons on the bonds totalling $22.5 million due on 6 August, exacerbating fears over how much cash it has left and keeping markets on tenterhooks throughout the bonds’ 30-day grace periods. Read more>>

Asset Managers Look to Sell Hong Kong Buildings as Higher Rates Bite

Asset managers are increasingly looking to dispose of their commercial buildings in Hong Kong as rising interest rates take a toll on mortgage payments, which for some have now exceeded rental income.

Some of the sales plans also come as mortgage loans are due to be refinanced, which is made more difficult when equity in the asset drops, people in credit and property markets said. Read more>>

Morgan Stanley Says China is ‘Overinvested’, but India’s the Opposite

China is overinvested as its economy continues to get buffeted — but India has room for investment opportunities, says Morgan Stanley.

“China is overinvested. It’s overleveraged and it’s oversupplied. And then it has this geopolitical cloud over it,” said Jitania Kandhari, Morgan Stanley’s deputy CIO for solutions and multi-asset and managing director. This is in contrast to India, which Kandhari says is underinvested. Read more>>

China Property Support Spurs Buying, but Sceptics Warn of Weak Demand

China’s package of relief measures to support the property sector triggered a homebuying spree over the weekend as hundreds of families in Beijing and Shanghai took advantage of lower down payment rates and mortgage costs to sign purchase contracts on the spur of the moment.

The mainland’s two most developed metropolises announced Friday that more residents would qualify as “first-time” homebuyers, giving them access to cheaper mortgage loans and letting them borrow with lower upfront payments. Read more>>

JP Morgan Sees City of London Office Values Falling 20% This Year

Office buildings in London’s financial district will lose a fifth of their value in the year through March, said JP Morgan analysts, who stopped recommending clients buy shares of British Land.

City valuations have deteriorated in recent months, with statistics from the Investment Property Databank Index showing an 8 percent decline, analysts including Neil Green said in a note to clients. Read more>>

Mainland Unit of Hong Kong’s New World Reports $1.37B in Home Sales

New World Development, the conglomerate owned by one of Hong Kong’s wealthiest families, sold more than RMB 10 billion ($1.37 billion) worth of residential projects in mainland China in the first eight months of the year, the company said Monday.

The total sales reported in this period catapulted New World China Land, its China unit, into the ranks of the mainland’s top 100 developers, New World said, citing three real estate think tanks. Read more>>

Singapore’s Longest-Serving Central Bank Chief to Retire

Ravi Menon, the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s longest-serving chief, will leave the central bank at the end of the year, to be succeeded by his former deputy Chia Der Jiun.

Chia, 52, who is currently the Ministry of Manpower’s permanent secretary for development, will become managing director-designate of the MAS from 1 November, the authority said Monday in an emailed statement. His term runs from January to 31 May 2026, according to the statement. Read more>>

Singapore Money-Laundering Case Exposes Gaps in Defences

A Singapore money-laundering probe involving more than S$1 billion ($740 million) is shining a light on fund flows from abroad and raising questions about loopholes that enabled an alleged crime syndicate to accumulate luxury property, Bentley cars and cryptocurrency.

The investigation erupted into public view in mid-August after police arrested 10 foreigners — most originating from China — and accused them of laundering criminal proceeds. It’s prompted questions about whether the banking giants that drive the economy have done enough to block dubious transactions. Read more>>

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