Latest news with #LeMont
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China Vanke's Le Mont project in Tai Po selling briskly despite mortgage concerns
China Vanke has sold around a quarter of the more than 200 units on offer at its Le Mont project on the first day of sales, despite earlier reports indicating that some Hong Kong banks were refusing to extend mortgages to prospective buyers. By 1pm on Saturday, 58 of the 228 available flats at the new Tai Po residential project developed by Vanke Hong Kong, a unit of China Vanke, had been sold, said Sammy Po Siu-ming, CEO of Midland Realty's residential division. He expected the flats to be sold out by the end of the day. The flats - ranging from 214 sq ft to 873 sq ft - include 28 studios, 67 one-bedroom units, 93 two-bedroom units, 24 three-bedroom units, nine four-bedroom units and seven special units. They are part of a six-tower residential complex, projected to be completed by July 2026. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Prices for the units range from HK$2.38 million to HK$11.41 million (US$306,000 to US$1.47 million), while the price per square foot is between HK$9,185 and HK$14,392. That is over 30 per cent lower than prices of comparable properties in the neighbourhood two years ago, according to property agents. The Le Mont project is located in Tai Po. Photo: Handout alt=The Le Mont project is located in Tai Po. Photo: Handout> Le Mont closed its ballot registration at 8pm on Thursday, attracting a total of 7,418 applications - an oversubscription of more than 31 times. China Vanke, once the largest real estate developer on the mainland but now battling a liquidity crisis, faced renewed challenges after several banks in Hong Kong rejected mortgage applications from potential buyers of the project. Standard Chartered and Chong Hing Bank were not accepting applications for the project, agents said earlier this week. The banks were assessing the risk of a Vanke default and its capacity to complete the project, according to a lawyer. As of Friday, Hang Seng Bank, HSBC and Bank of East Asia confirmed they would provide mortgage financing for buyers, joining OCBC Hong Kong and Bank of Communications, according to a Vanke spokesman. Bank of China (Hong Kong) and ICBC (Asia) also indicated they would extend mortgages for the project. Some banks in Hong Kong have rejected mortgage applications for the Le Mont project. Photo: Nora Tam alt=Some banks in Hong Kong have rejected mortgage applications for the Le Mont project. Photo: Nora Tam> China Vanke is grappling with nearly US$5 billion in debt maturities this year and is expected to report a record net loss of 45 billion yuan (US$6.2 billion) for 2024. Once regarded as a financially stable developer with state backing, Vanke's struggles underscore the ongoing impact of China's prolonged property downturn. Fitch Ratings in January downgraded China Vanke's long-term foreign and local-currency issuer default ratings from B+ to B-, citing the developer's deteriorating cash flow and sales outlook. While Hong Kong's property market is enduring a third year of downturn, interest has been recovering in recent weeks following the Hong Kong government's reduction of stamp duty on small flats and a recent stock rally that has boosted potential buyers' confidence. Around 1,330 new home sales have been recorded so far this month, compared to 758 in January and 901 in February. The number of transactions is expected to exceed 3,000 by the end of the month, according to Louis Chan Wing-kit, CEO of Centaline Property Agency. Chan noted that the market was rebounding, helped by the competitive pricing of newly launched projects. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Sign in to access your portfolio
South China Morning Post
15-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China Vanke's Le Mont project in Tai Po selling briskly despite mortgage concerns
China Vanke has sold around a quarter of the more than 200 units on offer at its Le Mont project on the first day of sales, despite earlier reports indicating that some Hong Kong banks were refusing to extend mortgages to prospective buyers. Advertisement By 1pm on Saturday, 58 of the 228 available flats at the new Tai Po residential project developed by Vanke Hong Kong, a unit of China Vanke, had been sold, said Sammy Po Siu-ming, CEO of Midland Realty's residential division. He expected the flats to be sold out by the end of the day. The flats – ranging from 214 sq ft to 873 sq ft – include 28 studios, 67 one-bedroom units, 93 two-bedroom units, 24 three-bedroom units, nine four-bedroom units and seven special units. They are part of a six-tower residential complex, projected to be completed by July 2026. Prices for the units range from HK$2.38 million to HK$11.41 million (US$306,000 to US$1.47 million), while the price per square foot is between HK$9,185 and HK$14,392. That is over 30 per cent lower than prices of comparable properties in the neighbourhood two years ago, according to property agents. The Le Mont project is located in Tai Po. Photo: Handout Le Mont closed its ballot registration at 8pm on Thursday, attracting a total of 7,418 applications – an oversubscription of more than 31 times. Advertisement
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Some Hong Kong banks refuse mortgages for China Vanke's Le Mont project in Tai Po
Some banks in Hong Kong are not extending mortgages for China Vanke's Le Mont project due to be launched in Tai Po, another setback for the embattled mainland Chinese developer battling a liquidity crisis. Standard Chartered, one of the city's three currency-issuing banks, and Chong Hing Bank were not accepting mortgage requests from potential homebuyers at Le Mont, according to property agents. Standard Chartered declined to comment. Chong Hing Bank said in a statement that it mainly considers the mortgaged property's value and quality together with the applicant's repayment ability when evaluating mortgage loan applications. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Some potential buyers were also told by both these banks that they would not provide loans for the Le Mont project. China Vanke's Le Mont residential project in Tai Po. Photo: Handout alt=China Vanke's Le Mont residential project in Tai Po. Photo: Handout> The position taken by Standard Chartered and Chong Hing Bank marks a fresh blow for Vanke. The one-time second-largest developer on the mainland faces nearly US$5 billion in debt maturities this year worsened by a years-long property downturn at home. Vanke is also likely to post a record net loss of 45 billion yuan (US$6.2 billion) for 2024. "Banks are assessing the likelihood of a Vanke default [and whether] it is able to complete the project," according to a lawyer. "For presale units, banks are concerned if the money can be recouped after granting mortgages to buyers." Meanwhile, Bank of China (Hong Kong), Hang Seng Bank, HSBC and Bank of East Asia were yet to confirm mortgage requests, agents said. Le Mont started accepting registrations of interest last week for the 403-flat project, which is expected to be completed in July 2026. The company announced on Tuesday that it would offer 228 units for sale on Saturday. The lawyer said that the proceeds from the flat sales would not directly go to Vanke but to an escrow account of its representative law firm to repay construction costs and loans. If the sales do not go as expected, the onus would be on Vanke to find funds to complete the project, he added. "Therefore, some banks are refusing to grant mortgages due to credit risks." Still, other banks were continuing to process mortgage applications for would-be buyers at Le Mont, according to Vanke Hong Kong, a unit of the mainland developer. "Le Mont's first price list was uploaded on March 6," a Vanke spokesman said. "Normally, banks can only start the approval process after the price list is released." Bank of Communications and OCBC Wing Hang Bank confirmed that they would offer mortgages, the spokesman said, adding that "other banks will also complete their approvals throughout next week". ICBC (Asia) also said it would extend mortgages for the project. "The bank processes mortgage applications in accordance with stringent internal approval procedures, which include a thorough assessment of risks and the applicant's affordability," it said in a statement. Each bank has its own policies for mortgage applications, according to Eric Tso Tak-ming, chief vice-president of mortgage broker mReferral. "For smaller or non-local developers, banks will [only] accept completed projects, while a few will accept presale projects," he said. Vanke last week unveiled the prices of the first 81 flats at Le Mont, which range from HK$2.38 million (US$306,000) to HK$10.38 million after discounts of as much as 16 per cent. The flats on offer range from 248 sq ft to 873 sq ft. These comprise eight studio units, 30 one-bedroom flats, 35 two-bedroom units, six three-bedroom flats and two four-bedroom units. Vanke recently secured a funding guarantee from its main state-backed shareholder, Shenzhen Metro Group, to repay its debt. Shenzhen Metro, which holds a 27.2 per cent stake in China Vanke, signed a three-year agreement with the developer to provide secured loans of up to 2.8 billion yuan, according to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on February 10. Vanke will provide assets worth up to 4 billion yuan as collateral to Shenzhen Metro via an 18 per cent stake transfer in its property management unit Onewo. The facility would be used to repay and settle the developer's outstanding debts, according to the filing. The loans would be repaid on a quarterly basis. Fitch Ratings in January downgraded China Vanke's long-term foreign and local-currency issuer default ratings to B- from B+ because of the company's deteriorating cash flow and sales outlook. Additional reporting by Yulu Ao This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
South China Morning Post
11-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Some Hong Kong banks refuse mortgages for China Vanke's Le Mont project in Tai Po
Advertisement Standard Chartered , one of the city's three currency-issuing banks, and Chong Hing Bank were not accepting mortgage requests from potential homebuyers at Le Mont, according to property agents. Standard Chartered declined to comment. Chong Hing Bank said in a statement that it mainly considers the mortgaged property's value and quality together with the applicant's repayment ability when evaluating mortgage loan applications. Some potential buyers were also told by both these banks that they would not provide loans for the Le Mont project. China Vanke's Le Mont residential project in Tai Po. Photo: Handout The position taken by Standard Chartered and Chong Hing Bank marks a fresh blow for Vanke. The one-time second-largest developer on the mainland faces nearly US$5 billion in debt maturities this year worsened by a years-long property downturn at home. Vanke is also likely to post a record net loss of 45 billion yuan (US$6.2 billion) for 2024.
South China Morning Post
03-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong developers to sell more flats as buyers return amid tax relief, stock rally
Hong Kong developers plan to put more flats on sale in the coming weeks, hoping to catch buyers amid signs the government's latest policy incentives are helping to revive demand. Advertisement China Vanke said it would unveil the price list for its Le Mont project in Tai Po this week, while Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) is slated to sell the first units in its Yoho West Parkside development in Tin Shui Wai. Henderson Land Development, Wang On Properties and Kerry Properties are also coming back to the market this week. The trio sold 352 flats in their projects on Saturday, in the best weekend for new home sales in four months, after Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po cut stamp duties on small flats in the budget. The performance came as a relief for Hong Kong's residential market after a rebound – aided by easier mortgage terms in October – petered out. A sharp rally in Hong Kong's US$5.9 trillion stock market has helped restore some equity wealth, helping buyers sidestep concerns about the interest-rate outlook and US-China trade tensions. 'More than 70 per cent of the [Le Mont] project consists of small and medium-sized flats, and the overall economic environment has gradually recovered,' said Quincy Chow Ming-hei, managing director at Vanke Hong Kong, a local unit of the mainland-based developer. 'The property market will be steady in the future.' Advertisement
