UOB sues Shimao in China for breach of loan

Struggling developers and struggling tech takeovers top the region’s property news collection, as one of Singapore’s biggest banks sues Shimao Group in Hong Kong and Gaw Capital finds an opportunity to move into real estate websites after a SPAC deal collapses in Singapore.

UOB sues Shimao in China for breach of loan

Distressed Chinese developer Shimao Group Holdings and four units have been sued by UOB in Hong Kong, adding to wider signs of growing investor impatience amid the country’s deepening property debt crisis.

The UOB alleged that Shimao and group entities breached the terms of certain loan and guarantee agreements by allegedly reallocating loans and allocating shares between the entities without the consent of the Singapore bank, according to a writ of the Hong Kong High Court dated July 12. Learn more>>

Gaw Capital leads $52m investment in Singapore’s 99 Group

Carousell Pte Ltd’s bid to buy property portal 99 Group fell through after the online classifieds market ended talks to go public via a merger with a blank check company, according to a person familiar with the matter .

99 Group ended talks after Carousell failed to reach a merger deal with L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp., a key part of the deal, the person said, asking not to be named because the matter is private. Representatives for Carousell and 99 Group declined to comment. Learn more>>

China plans to seize undeveloped land from struggling developers

China is considering a plan to seize undeveloped land from struggling property companies, using it to help fund the completion of stalled property projects that have sparked mortgage boycotts across the country, according to people familiar with the matter.

The proposal, which is still under discussion and could evolve, would take advantage of Chinese laws allowing local governments to regain control of land sold to real estate companies if it remains undeveloped after two years, without compensation. This would give authorities more leeway to direct funds to unfinished homes, potentially at the expense of creditors who would lose claims on some of developers’ most valuable assets. Learn more>>

MTR Tung Chung Project Tender Returns Five Bids to Hong Kong

MTR Corporation (0066) has received five bids for a large residential site in Tung Chung, worth an estimated HK$5.5 billion, after rejecting five bids last year. Bidders included Nan Fung Group, Sino Land (0083) and Henderson Land Development (0012).

The highest valuations for the site reached HK$5.5 billion, or HK$5,900 per square foot. But they are still below last year’s peak valuation of HK$7.52 billion, at around HK$8,000 per square foot. Learn more>>

Country Garden’s Yang Huiyan loses Asia’s richest woman title

Asia’s richest woman has lost more than half her fortune in the past year as China’s property sector has been rocked by a cash crunch, a billionaire index showed on Thursday.

Yang Huiyan, majority shareholder of Chinese real estate giant Country Garden, saw his net worth plunge more than 52% to $11.3 billion from $23.7 billion a year ago, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Learn more>>

Potential 30% drop in Hong Kong house prices expected

The worst is yet to come for Hong Kong house prices as the market begins to decline amid rising interest rates and a slowing economy, the SCMP China 2022 conference said on Thursday.

With the market at the start of a down cycle, house prices will fall 5-10% this year, said Joseph Tsang, chairman of JLL Hong Kong. Learn more>>

BlackRock, KKR and Pimco said they are looking for high-yield debt bargains

Big investors like BlackRock Inc. and KKR & Co. Inc. believe that the prices of junk bonds and leveraged loans look cheap and buy slowly even though there is a good chance that the markets will swing wildly in the coming months.

High-yield companies still have relatively strong balance sheets and defaults are unlikely to increase even in a recession, said Mitchell Garfin, co-head of leveraged finance at BlackRock. Learn more>>

CICT increases distributions as Singapore reopens

Capitaland Integrated Commercial Trust on Thursday posted a 0.8% increase in payout per unit to S$0.0522 for the first half to June.

Distributable income increased by 3.4% to S$347.3 million for the period, from S$335.9 million a year ago, amid increased revenue resulting from the reopening of Singapore and efforts to replenish the trust’s portfolio. Learn more>>

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