Guangzhou R&F Seeks Extension on $5.2B in Bonds

One of China’s naughtiest developers is back in the news this week as Guangzhou R&F Properties is offering investors a chance to either give it a debt extension or face a haircut. Also, making the headlines is Hong Kong’s Swire Properties, which has taken on a US partner for its Miami supertall project and Singapore’s Far East Orchard seems to have some issues regarding a Mirvac deal to sell a portfolio of Aussie hotels.

Guangzhou R&F Seeks Extension on $5.2B in Bonds

Debt-laden Guangzhou R&F Properties is seeking investors’ consent to extend the maturity dates of 10 of its offshore bonds worth $5.16 billion due between now and 2024, to avoid defaults.

If the Guangzhou-based developer fails to get the bondholders’ approval, it said it will resort to restructuring its debt according to proposed terms already circulated to them. Read more>>

Swire Teaming Up with Related to Build Miami Supertall

Related Cos. and Swire Properties Inc. unveiled new details of its plan to build one of the tallest office skyscrapers in Florida to attract tech and finance tenants that are expanding in the region.

The firms are building a 1,000-foot (305-meter) tower in Miami, dubbed One Brickell City Centre, according to a statement Wednesday. The building marks the second phase of the broader development called Brickell City Centre, a $1.05 billion Swire-developed property that opened in 2016. Read more>>

Far East Orchard Balks at Mirvac Sale of Aussie Travelodges

A move by listed company Mirvac and its NSW motoring organisation partner NRMA to rid themselves of a A$620 million ($429 million) hotel portfolio investment is proving troublesome, with the local operators of the Travelodge brand refusing to hand over the properties.

TFE Hotels, a joint venture between Australia’s TOGA Hotels and Singapore’s Far East Orchard Limited, is refusing to vacate 10 Travelodge hotels that the property giant and its motoring partner sold to a consortium led by fund manager Salter Brothers in July last year. Read more>>

Chinese Developers Issue New Domestic Debt as Policy Eases

Chinese property developers have increased fundraising on the interbank bond market, data from a market dealer group showed. Nearly 10 developers including Poly Development and PowerChina Real Estate have issued debt financing instruments (DFIs) worth 11.9 billion yuan (1.78 billion U.S. dollars) on the market this month, with 49.5 billion yuan of DFIs by more enterprises in the pipeline, according to the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors.

Given increasing downward pressures on the property sector, authorities have rolled out a raft of supportive policies to help cash-strapped developers meet their financing demand since the fourth quarter of 2021. Read more>>

China Property Troubles Push Debt Indicator Above Crisis Levels

A measure of risk levels for debt in Asia has surpassed its 2009 financial crisis high, thanks to a surge in downgrades of Chinese property developers since late last year, ratings agency Moody’s said Wednesday.

Among the relatively risky category of Asian high-yield companies outside Japan that are covered by Moody’s, the share with the most speculative ratings of “B3 negative” or lower has nearly doubled from last year — to a record high of 30.5% as of May, the firm said. Read more>>

Hong Kong Homebuyers Rush into Market as Banks Hold Back Rate Hikes

Hong Kong’s property buyers piled into the market to snap up 70 per cent of 332 new flats on offer at three projects across the city, taking advantage of the breathing room offered by banks this week when they deferred raising their mortgage rates.

In Hung Hom, 126 of the 182 flats at Henderson Land Development’s Baker Circle Dover project found buyers at 5pm, with about 12 bids chasing every available flat, according to sales agents. Over at Sham Shui Po, Ascend Speed sold two of the first batches of 32 flats at its J Loft project. Read more>>

Singapore’s Cathay Cineplexes Shutting Down Orchard Road Location

Cathay Cineplexes will cease operations at its iconic location, The Cathay, located at 2 Handy Road, after Sunday, Jun 26 2022. The cinema chain, a subsidiary of mm2 Asia, will continue to operate its other 7 cinema locations. The closure is part of a cost rationalisation for its cinema operations.

“Over the years, retail traffic demographics have changed. We have had to evaluate the commercial viability of operating two cinemas in the Orchard shopping belt within 1.5km of each other and within 300m of another multiplex,” says Chang Long Jong, group chief executive officer, mm2 Asia. Read more>>

SGX-Listed APAC Realty Sees 20% Earnings Growth Despite Drop in Deals

Singapore real estate agency APAC Realty reported a 20 per cent growth in net profit to S$9 million ($6.5 million) for Q1FY2022 ending Mar 31 from S$7 million a year prior, in a business update released after market close on Friday (Jun 17).

The growth was in tandem with a 11.8 per cent jump in revenue for Q1 FY2022, which was driven by brokerage fees for new homes transactions, which grew 42.2 per cent year on year (y-o-y) to S$77.2 million. This was offset by a slight decline in resale and rental transactions of 4.6 per cent to S$96.4 million. Read more>>

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