Latest news with #HenryChengKar-shun
South China Morning Post
13-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Luxury malls in Beijing, Shanghai slash rents, change tenant mix as consumer spending dips
A slowdown in Chinese consumer spending on luxury goods is affecting high-end malls in Beijing and Shanghai, with shopping centres like Parkview Green and K11 slashing rents and courting mid-market retailers to attract middle-class shoppers and stem rising vacancy rates. Advertisement Shanghai K11, an 11-year-old luxury mall owned by the family of Hong Kong billionaire Henry Cheng Kar-shun, was easing its tenant criteria as rental income continued to fall, a source told the Post, declining to provide details on rents. In Beijing, Parkview Green, a landmark shopping complex in the central business district known for its pyramid-like structure and extensive art collection, announced in March that it planned to attract more diverse restaurant operators to 'reignite its commercial potential' following the exit of high-end brands like Rolex and Ermanno Scervino. Hong Kong's Parkview Group, the property's owner, put it up for sale last December as it struggled with high mortgage payments and lacklustre occupancy rates, according to a Bloomberg report. Parkview Group, the owner of Parkview Green in Beijing, put the shopping centre for sale in December. Photo: Simon Song 'What Parkview Green represents is a type of property that was once positioned as premium, but with the challenges facing high-end consumption in China today, its brand structure and tenant mix need to be adjusted,' said Tin Sun, northern China head of research at CBRE.
South China Morning Post
01-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
New World Development plans sweetening of terms on two loans that it is seeking
New World Development plans to sweeten the terms of two loans it is seeking, using a prized asset that it has already pledged as collateral for another facility, people familiar with the matter said this week. Advertisement Under the revised terms for the two loans, which total HK$87.5 billion (US$11.2 billion), the Hong Kong developer would offer the Victoria Dockside complex as a second-ranking security to banks, adding it to the approximately 40 other properties already in the collateral pool, the people said. The term-sweetening would be made on the condition that the cash-strapped company obtained a new HK$15.6 billion loan that Victoria Dockside is intended to back, the people added. They asked not to be identified as they were discussing private matters. The arrangement would give the two lenders some extra support, though they would rank lower than those on the new loan when it comes to the asset. In addition, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, which is controlled by the family of billionaire Henry Cheng Kar-shun, would offer what is known as a 'letter of comfort' for the two loans, the people said. A letter of comfort is usually issued by a borrower's parent or major shareholder to its lenders to show support, though it may not be legally enforceable. Advertisement New World, also controlled by Cheng's family, faces one of the highest debt burdens among Hong Kong developers, as the city's property market remains mired in a slump. The company has been in discussions with banks since January as lenders have grown increasingly cautious over its liquidity conditions.
South China Morning Post
28-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
New World Development reports losses as debt ratio worsens amid property slump
New World Development (NWD), controlled by Hong Kong's third-richest family, reported weaker interim results in its underlying property business, suggesting the worst is not over as the city's most indebted developer struggled to contain its debt burden and loss of confidence among investors. Advertisement Earnings from its core business declined 18 per cent from a year earlier to HK$4.42 billion (US$567 million) in the six months to December 31, it said in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing on Friday. Revenue slipped 1.6 per cent to HK$16.8 billion. After accounting for almost HK$5 billion of one-off items, such as the erosion in the fair value of investment properties and cost of refinancing its bonds, the group incurred an interim loss of HK$6.63 billion, versus a profit of HK$502 million a year earlier, it added. 'The loss mainly arose from a drop in market value of projects in both development and investment properties, due to quick changes in market macro factors,' chairman Henry Cheng Kar-shun said. These included a slower-than-expected pace of interest rate cut and caution amid US policy shift and Beijing's stimulus measures, he added. 03:39 Shop occupancy recovers in Hong Kong, but vacant stores still visible across the city Shop occupancy recovers in Hong Kong, but vacant stores still visible across the city The company's efforts to address its debt levels failed to improve as net gearing ratio rose to 57.5 per cent on December 31 from 55 per cent on June 30, its report showed. Consolidated net debt increased by less than 1 per cent to HK$124.6 billion over the six-month period.
South China Morning Post
15-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong homebuyers flock to NWD's State Pavilia amid ‘attractive' pricing
Published: 4:23pm, 15 Feb 2025 The latest residential project of New World Development (NWD) received a warm reception on Saturday, as Hong Kong homebuyers snapped up flats on offer at State Pavilia in North Point even after prices were raised for the batch on sale this weekend. As of 3pm, NWD – controlled by the family of chairman Henry Cheng Kar-shun – sold 103 of the 168 units on offer in the initial phase of the firm's redevelopment project at the site of the former State Theatre , according to property agents. 'The pricing is attractive and the developer is expected to put more flats on sale,' said Louis Chan Wing-kit, chief executive of Centaline Property Agency. The developer said the response to the 388-unit State Pavilia project on King's Road in North Point has been 'enthusiastic' , as more than 4,800 buyers wrote cheques as of Tuesday night for a chance to buy one of the 168 flats put on sale this weekend. The batch on offer comprises 44 one-bedroom flats, 122 two-bedroom units and a couple of three-bedroom flats, with prices ranging from HK$6.05 million (US$777,189) to HK$20.4 million after discounts. That translates to a per-square-foot price of between HK$16,888 and HK$28,088. Potential buyers crowd the entrance to the Quarry Bay sales office for New World Development's State Pavilia project. Photo: Edmond So The brisk sales for State Pavilia may inject some dose of optimism to NWD, as the property developer scrambles to dispose of assets to reduce its HK$123.7 billion debt load.
South China Morning Post
07-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
HSBC cuts New World stock target, suggests capital injection to calm investors
New World Development (NWD) may need a debt-reduction plan or cash injection from the billionaire Cheng family to overcome a liquidity squeeze and assuage stock investors, according to analysts at HSBC Holdings. The company's shares have lost 37 per cent, or HK$6.4 billion (US$821.7 million) in market value, since late November after a management shake-up failed to calm investors. While the shares gained 6.3 per cent in a late rally on Friday, they remained near a record-low of HK$4.04 reached on January 25. HSBC on Thursday cut its stock-price target for a second time this year on a poor earnings outlook. The developer, which is controlled by the family of chairman Henry Cheng Kar-shun, this week set the price of its prime State Pavilia residential units in North Point at multi-year lows to crank up sales. The move is seen as augmenting NWD's asset-sale programme to help trim its US$16 billion debt load. 'A concrete and holistic deleveraging plan to improve its financial position, instead of refinancing, would help to alleviate investor concerns,' HSBC analysts Raymond Liu and Michelle Kwok said in a report. 'Strong support from its parent, such as a capital injection, could also help.' CEO Echo Huang Shaomei is working to repair NWD's balance sheet and regain investor confidence. Photo: Handout HSBC lowered its price target for NWD to HK$3.66, after earlier trimming it to HK$4 from HK$5.60 on January 7, according to Bloomberg data. Among 19 analysts covering the stock, 11 rated NWD as a sell, four a hold and four a buy. The most bearish is Jefferies, with a HK$2 price target.
