Hong Kong Faces 25% Slump From Home Price Peak

In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, analysts offer a sobering take on Hong Kong’s deepening housing slump, and the billionaire power couple behind Soho China put on a masterclass in wealth preservation.

Hong Kong Home Prices Seen Falling as Much as 25% From Peak

The slump in Hong Kong’s home prices will deepen next year due to the combination of rising borrowing costs, a recession and an exodus of residents, according to Natixis.

Residential prices are expected to fall 12 percent in 2023 and 2 percent the following year, taking the drop from the peak in late 2021 to 25 percent, Natixis analysts led by Alicia Garcia-Herrero wrote in a report dated Wednesday. Read more>>

New York Becomes Soho China Owners’ Haven From Property Crash

In a townhouse facing St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan, the power couple behind one of China’s greatest commercial property empires is writing the playbook for how to move a fortune out of the Communist nation.

Zhang Xin and her husband, Pan Shiyi, who grew Soho China into a behemoth that reshaped the country’s skylines, have built a discreet family office called Seven Valleys — named for the book written in Persian by the founder of the couple’s Baha’i faith. Read more

Shimao to Raise Funds as Beijing Lifts Equity Sales Ban

Chinese developer Shimao Group Holdings plans a private placement of shares, becoming the second player in the cash-squeezed sector to tap equity fundraising options just a day after Beijing lifted a ban on such deals.

Shares of Shimao, a mid-sized developer, surged in Shanghai by their daily upward limit, or 9.9 percent, on Wednesday after the developer made the announcement in a filing late Tuesday. Read more>>

Surbana Jurong, Mitsubishi, Sinar Mas to Develop Jakarta Mixed-Use Project

Mitbana, a joint venture of Surbana Jurong and Mitsubishi Corp, is partnering with Indonesian developer Sinar Mas Land to develop one of the largest mixed-use projects in BSD City in Greater Jakarta.

The 108 hectare (267 acre) project features residential and transit-oriented developments, and it will be helmed by Sinar Mitbana Mas, the joint venture between Mitbana and Sinar Mas Land. Read more>>

Casino Operator Genting to List Miami Property for Over $1B

Genting, a major casino operator, plans to sell some of its Miami real estate and is seeking more than $1 billion as it looks to focus on other investment opportunities such as New York.

The 6.5 hectare (16 acre) parcel, once home to the Miami Herald newspaper, is one of the largest undeveloped pieces of land along the city’s waterfront. The property sits on Biscayne Bay, across from Miami Beach and near art and concert venues. The brokerage firm Avison Young will handle the listing, Genting said. Read more>>

Fosun Said to Mull Sale of India’s $3.8B Gland Pharma

Billionaire Guo Guangchang’s Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group is considering a sale of Indian drugmaker Gland Pharma after receiving interest from potential buyers, people familiar with the matter said.

Fosun Pharma, a listed arm of Chinese conglomerate Fosun International, has been working with an advisor as it informally gauges interest in its controlling stake in Gland, the people said. Companies in the industry and buyout firms are in the early stages of studying the business, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private matters. Read more>>

Astrid Hill Bungalow in Early Stage of Being Sold for Over S$55M

An option to purchase an old freehold bungalow in Singapore’s Astrid Hill for nearly S$55.09 million ($40.3 million) has been granted to Ng Keng Sing, a director and co-owner of oil and petroleum company Midas NSSG International.

The price works out to S$1,989 per square foot on a land area of 27,699 square feet (2,573 square metres). The property is next to another old bungalow that Ng bought last year for S$44.3 million or S$1,413 per square foot on a land area of 31,359 square feet. Read more>>

China’s Small Lenders Bear Brunt of Risks in Banking Sector

China’s small lenders will bear much of the risk in the nation’s banking industry, as an economic slowdown caused by the country’s zero-COVID policy exacerbates their weaker fundamentals, according to credit rating agencies Moody’s and CCXI.

“Medium-sized and small banks will be impacted by regional economic fluctuations and the pandemic, and in the future they will face more pressure to control their bad loan ratios and provision coverage ratios,” said Wen Yuqi, director of the financial institutions ratings department at CCXI, referring to the amount of capital they must set aside to cover soured loans. Read more>>

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