Ho Chi Minh City is feeling the strain of Vietnam’s real estate meltdown (Getty Images)
In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, Vietnam’s construction ministry says the number of property-related businesses suspending operations soared in the first quarter at the same time that prices for some luxury homes in the country’s capital fall by 40 percent. Also in the news, Fitch Ratings gives its seal of approval to China’s “improved” REITs scheme and Hong Kong’s Far East Consortium opens a pair of Melbourne Hotels.
Hundreds of Vietnam Property Firms Have Shut as Crisis Drags
More than 1,800 companies engaged in developing and selling properties in Vietnam suspended operations in the first quarter in signs of a lingering strain in the sector beset by funding woes.
That figure jumped 61 percent from a year earlier, while the number of new property companies that opened in the first three months of 2023 plunged 63 percent, according to the country’s construction ministry. Some 340 other companies were dissolved in the same period, it said. Read more>>
Hanoi Speculative Villa Prices Down 40%
Amid rising interest rates, Hanoi’s cash-strapped villa investors are slashing prices by up to 40 percent to lure customers.
Loi spent VND 32.5 billion ($1.4 million) on a 180 square metre (1,938 square foot) villa in mid-2022. He paid for the house with a bank loan and VND 11 billion of his own money hoping his investment’s price would double in two years. Two months later, the real estate market went silent. Read more>>
China’s New REITs Scheme Improves Commercial Property Liquidity: Fitch
Fitch Ratings expects China’s REITs market to expand, bolstered by a broadened scheme that includes more assets and has adjusted return requirements and strong government support.
The inclusion of commercial properties into the scheme can help improve liquidity for consumer-oriented commercial real estate such as shopping malls, department stores and farmers’ markets, and fits well with policy goals to support consumption, Fitch said. Read more>>
Far East Consortium Opens Two New Hotels in Melbourne
Hong Kong-based Far East Consortium, an investor in The Star’s Queen’s Wharf Brisbane project, has announced the opening of two other non-gaming hotels in Melbourne: Ritz-Carlton and Dorsett Melbourne.
The group debuted the 257-room Ritz-Carlton on 23 March in the West Side mixed-use development CBD zone of Melbourne, with its lobby located on the 80th floor of the property. Read more>>
Evergrande to Buy Property Projects From EV Unit to Sweeten Debt Overhaul
Embattled China Evergrande Group will take over residential and property projects of its Evergrande NEV unit for an initial consideration of just RMB 2 ($0.29) as it seeks to make the electric car maker attractive to offshore creditors days before a deadline to accept a restructuring of its $19 billion offshore debt.
Evergrande NEV will sell 47 of its health and living projects to Evergrande to “focus on the NEV segment and deploy appropriate resources towards the research, development and production of NEVs”, it said in a filing Monday evening. Read more>>
Hong Kong’s Office Vacancy Rate Falls for First Time in 10 Months: JLL
Hong Kong’s office vacancy rate declined for the first time in 10 months in March, and signs for the rest of the year are encouraging amid an uptick in business activity after the border reopening with mainland China, market observers said.
The overall vacancy rate for Grade A offices fell 0.2 percentage points in March to 12 percent — the first decline since May 2022, according to data from JLL. The office market recorded a net absorption of 203,900 square feet (18,943 square metres) in March, the consultancy said. Read more>>
Dasin Retail Trust’s Portfolio Valuation Falls as Legal Issues Dog Sponsor
Preliminary independent valuations have pointed to an overall decline in the value of Singapore-listed Dasin Retail Trust as of the end of December 2022.
On Monday the China-focused REIT’s trustee-manager said its portfolio valuation fell 14 percent in RMB terms when compared with the seven properties’ aggregate value at the end of June 2022. This translates to a steeper 23 percent decline in Singapore dollar terms. Read more>>
Guo Guangchang Sells Billions in Assets to Bail Out Fosun
Billionaire Guo Guangchang was sipping baijiu when he decided to kick off a $2 billion sale, his biggest in recent years.
His choice of liquor — from Shede Spirits, a brand under his Fosun International portfolio — was particularly momentous: “she de” means “let go” in Chinese. Read more>>
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