Wanda Commercial Races to Raise Cash for Bond and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

In today’s roundup of regional news headlines, Dalian Wanda’s property management unit reportedly eyes the sale of an unidentified asset to raise cash to pay a maturing offshore bond, with rating agencies warning of an imminent default. Also making the list are GLP’s negotiations with a state-backed developer over China assets and surging condo prices in Tokyo.

Wanda Promises Asset Sale in Struggle to Meet Bond Deadline

One of China’s most closely watched property firms, Dalian Wanda Group, rallied by a record Thursday in credit markets as a key unit told some creditors it’s finalising an asset disposal to help pay down a dollar bond due in just days.

Representatives of Dalian Wanda Commercial Management told the creditors that the firm expects to complete the asset disposal as early as this week and plans to use the proceeds to repay its $400 million bond due on 23 July, people involved in the private conversations said. The representatives wouldn’t specify what the asset is, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. Read more>>

Rating Firms Sound Default Warnings on Wanda Commercial

Moody’s and S&P Global sent stark warnings about China’s biggest commercial real estate firm, Dalian Wanda Group, on Thursday, adding to concern that the country could be about to suffer its most high-profile default since Evergrande.

Moody’s slashed Dalian Wanda Commercial Management and Wanda HK’s ratings by six full notches, saying it was now “highly uncertain” whether Wanda Commercial would be able to make a $400 million debt payment that is due in just three days’ time. Read more>>

GLP in Talks to Sell Some China Assets to State-Backed Firm

GLP is in talks with state-owned China Logistics Group about potentially selling some of its assets in China, according to people familiar with the matter, as the owner and operator of logistics real estate seeks to cut its borrowing.

A deal could see China Logistics Group take a controlling stake in a portfolio of GLP’s assets in the world’s second largest economy, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. The firms are negotiating which assets should be included in the portfolio and the discussions could still fall apart, the people said. Read more>>

New Condo Prices in Tokyo Surged 60% to a Record in H1

Newly built condo prices in Tokyo surged to a record in the first six months of 2023, adding fuel to a trend of growth stemming from factors including an influx of luxury units.

The average price of a new apartment in central Tokyo jumped 60 percent to JPY 129.6 million ($910,000) in the January-June period — the highest since record-keeping began, according to the Real Estate Economic Institute, which has been tracking data on condo sales since 1973. Read more>>

Blackstone Taps Strong Japanese Demand With Private Credit Fund

Blackstone sees opportunities to build out private credit offerings for high-net-worth investors in Japan after a strong start for a fund it launched with Daiwa Securities Group in April.

The offering from Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, and the Tokyo-based brokerage is the first publicly offered private credit fund in Japan that follows an offshore strategy, according to Daiwa. Read more>>

Lian Beng Warns of Lower Profits on Unit’s Expected Losses

Construction and engineering company Lian Beng is expected to report lower profits for the full year ended 31 May, as a subsidiary is expected to record a loss for the second half of its fiscal year.

SLB Development, the subsidiary, had announced in a separate profit guidance issued Thursday evening that it was expecting to report a loss for the six months ended 31 May. Read more>>

China Mulls Mortgage Easing to Spur Homebuying in Big Cities

Chinese authorities are considering easing homebuying restrictions in the nation’s biggest cities, potentially removing a hurdle that has curbed demand in Beijing and Shanghai for years, according to people familiar with the matter.

Regulators are weighing scrapping rules that disqualify people who’ve ever had a mortgage — even if fully repaid — from being considered a first-time homebuyer in major cities, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. Read more>>

Wing Tai’s The LakeGarden Residences to Start Previews Saturday

Previews for the new Jurong project The LakeGarden Residences will begin Saturday with prices starting at just under S$2,000 ($1,505) per square foot.

The 99-year leasehold condominium by Wing Tai Holdings occupies 134,176 square feet (12,465 square metres), with a gross plot ratio of 2.1. It was secured with a S$273.9 million bid at a collective sale tender in May 2020 at a 14 percent premium to the S$240 million reserve price. This works out to a land rate of S$1,250 to S$1,260 per square foot per plot ratio. Read more>>

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