Finance and asset management

SHANGHAI  – China’s first batch of publicly traded rental property real estate investment trusts (REITs) was snapped up in Shanghai and Shenzhen by yield-hungry investors this week, opening up a new financing channel for the struggling real estate sector. The three newly launched REITs, based on affordable rental properties, were each more than 100 times oversubscribed among institutional investors, managers said in filings. The REITs will raise a combined 3.8 billion yuan ($56 million), based on Reuters’ calculations, and the subscription periods ended early. The rental property REIT launches come as Beijing steps up efforts to aid the real estate business, a sector that was a pillar of growth in the world’s second-biggest economy over the last two decades but is now reeling amid debt piles, mortgage boycotts and sluggish sales. China launched a public REITs market based on infrastructure projects about a year ago, but this week’s launches mark the first time the REIT market has … [Read more...] about China’s first publicly traded rental property REITs snapped up by investors

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on August 1, 2022 - August 07, 2022. Ong has been active in the local corporate scene over the past few years. (Photo by Mohd Izwan Mohd Nazam/The Edge) - A + A CHEMICAL products distributor Hextar Global Bhd, the flagship company of Datuk Eddie Ong Choo Meng, is selling its manufacturing plant and the land on which it sits to KIP Real Estate Investment Trust (KIP REIT), in which Ong has a stake as well. Hextar Global, which bought the land in Klang in October 2005 for RM12.58 million, will lease back the assets after the sale. The company explains that the RM27 million sale is to unlock asset value and reduce its funding requirements. Nonetheless, Hextar Global’s asset sale is not that big a deal compared with that of its controlling shareholder Ong. The 44-year-old businessman is selling two industrial properties, namely warehouses and a factory, to KIP REIT for RM51.7 million cash. His original … [Read more...] about Hextar group boss continues acquisition spree

The Ayala Group’s energy unit, AC Energy Corp. (ACEN), has secured funding to develop renewable projects in Australia that are in its pipeline. In a disclosure, ACEN said that, as a guarantor to ACEN Australia Pty Ltd., it executed a common provisions agreement and a facility agreement between ACEN Australia and DBS Bank Ltd.’s Australia branch for a 100 million Australian dollars (about P3.9 billion) in long term revolving green loan facility. This is part of ACEN’s goal of raising more than AU$600 million to support the development of its projects in Australia. DBS was the sole arranger and sustainability adviser for the green loan facility which, according to ACEN, will provide capital financing for its eligible green assets in Australia, the first within the Ayala group. “Having pledged to achieve net zero financed emissions by 2050, DBS is also committed [to] supporting like-minded clients like ACEN in the long haul to enhance Asia’s renewable energy mix to realize a low … [Read more...] about ACEN taps funding for renewable projects in Australia