Latest news with #TrustLaw
Glasgow Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow student housing co-operative secured first property
The Glasgow Student Housing Co-operative (GSHC) will take on a flatted property in the south west of Glasgow following a £300,000 loan and share capital investment from Scotmid Co-operative to Student Co-op Homes. This property will be managed democratically by its student residents and is intended to offer an affordable, community-led housing alternative amid rising private rents. Read more: 'It's fantastic to see': Glasgow spaces recognised with Green Flag Awards 2025 Craig Strachan, chief financial officer at Scotmid, said: "We're delighted to support Student Co-op Homes and help bring the Glasgow Student Housing Co-op's vision to life. "This investment reflects our belief in long-term, values-driven partnerships, and in the ability of young people to lead meaningful change through the co-operative model." The announcement coincides with the UN International Year of Co-operatives 2025, which highlights the role of co-operatives in addressing global social challenges, including the housing crisis. Student Co-op Homes is the UK's national body for student housing co-ops and currently supports more than 130 students in Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Brighton. The new Glasgow development marks the group's expansion into the largest student city in Scotland. Scott Jennings, chair of Student Co-op Homes, said: "Scotmid's support is a game-changer. "It not only helps secure our first property in Glasgow but also sets an inspiring example of how established co-ops can empower new ones. "This is Principle 6 in action, strengthening the co-operative ecosystem from the ground up." May Armstrong, secretary of the Glasgow Student Housing Co-op, said: "This investment means everything to us. "For years, we've been working toward a student housing model that's affordable, sustainable, and rooted in community. "Now we finally have a home we can manage ourselves, and the chance to show what co-operation can achieve." Read more: The phones without internet from tomorrow as Virgin Media O2 expands switch off The project was made possible through a network of supporters. The Edinburgh Student Housing Co-op provided funding for initial running costs, while Co-operate Scotland offered ongoing guidance to GSHC. Law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn delivered pro bono conveyancing and regulatory advice, having been connected to the project through the Thomson Reuters Foundation's TrustLaw network.
Business Times
21-04-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Another China shadow bank seeks state help as trust sector reels
China's state-owned AVIC Trust is seeking assistance from two of its peers after delaying payments on some of its investment products, a sign of worsening problems in the country's US$3.7 trillion trust industry. The closely held trust company said in a statement late on Friday (Apr 18) that it has entered into a service agreement with CCB Trust and SDIC Taikang Trust. The two state-owned financial institutions will handle AVIC Trust's daily operations and management, and its outstanding claims and debts will remain unchanged, it said. The custody arrangement is another troubling development for China's sprawling trust sector, which has had a series of defaults and collapses in the past few years amid an unrelenting property crisis. AVIC Trust's brief statement bore similarities to one in 2023 from Zhongrong International Trust – formerly one of China's largest shadow banks – when it sought assistance from CCB Trust and another state-backed financial firm after missing payments on numerous wealth products. Zhongrong is now facing liquidation after its two custodians concluded the firm is insolvent, Bloomberg reported last week. AVIC Trust is the first state-owned trust company to be placed in custody since China's Trust Law took effect in 2001, according to local media reports. The company was founded in 2009 in Nanchang in China's Jiangxi province, and is controlled by the Aviation Industry Corp of China. The regulated non-bank financial institution oversees various capital trusts, property and real estate trusts and investment funds, and has more than 600 billion yuan (S$107.7 billion) in assets under management, according to its website. Singapore's OCBC Bank had a 15.6 per cent stake in AVIC Trust as at end-2023, according to the Chinese firm's annual report. Delayed payments Signs of stress at AVIC Trust emerged in the past few years. Some listed companies, including Baida Group and Anker Innovations Technology, that had invested in its trust products disclosed in previous years that payments were delayed. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up In late March, AVIC Industry-Finance Holdings, a Shanghai-listed commercial finance company that lists AVIC Trust as one of its units, said in a stock-exchange filing that there were 'grave uncertainties' in its operations. Trading in its shares has been suspended, and the company intends to delist. Yu Yao, founder of Shenzhen-based credit research firm Ratingdog, estimates that AVIC Trust has delayed payments or defaulted on at least 20 billion yuan worth of products. Retail investors of defaulted trust products have typically recovered 40 per cent to 80 per cent of their investments, Yao added, citing observations of earlier cases of trust firms in custody. China's trust industry, which has been around for decades, combines characteristics of commercial and investment banking, private equity and wealth management. Trust companies, which typically take deposits from rich individuals and companies to invest in various assets, were a major funding channel for real estate projects during the property boom, and many raised money by issuing high-yield products with implicit return guarantees. The trust sector has been reeling from the nation's protracted property crisis and crackdown on leverage. New China Trust was declared bankrupt in 2023 after three years of rescue efforts failed. Regulators approved Sichuan Trust's bankruptcy application last year. Chinese authorities this year pledged to bring risks in the sector under control by 2029. They recently revised rules to lay out bankruptcy proceedings, seeking to maintain financial stability amid an economic slowdown and an escalating trade war with the US. BLOOMBERG
