BlackRock unit forfeits on 780m yuan office complex

Agencies and staff reporter

A BlackRock fund forfeited a Shanghai office complex to Standard Chartered (2888) after it didn't make a loan payment for the property, according to insiders.

A fund unit of the New York-based asset manager opted not to make a payment for a syndicated loan led by Standard Chartered due at the end of September, said the insiders, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

BlackRock's fund took out the loan of about 780 million yuan (HK$832 million) for two towers it bought in 2018 at Waterfront Place in China's financial hub, they said.

It's the latest sign that China's yearslong property downturn has swept up even the world's largest financial institutions. The development came as BlackRock failed to sell the property even after offering a 30 percent discount to its purchase price, they said.

That came as Hong Kong-listed company Greentown China (3900) launched a refinancing plan following a spate of defaults in the mainland's property sector.

Greentown China said yesterday it will buy back US$741 million (HK$5.78 billion) of outstanding bonds and is also planning to issue US dollar-denominated notes, both as part of a debt refinancing plan.

The Hangzhou-based developer will buy back US$446.5 million of its 4.7 percent senior notes and US$294.5 million of its 5.65 percent senior notes, both due this year.

Greentown also said it plans to issue dollar-denominated senior notes, although the amount and other terms were yet to be finalized.

Even though a debt crisis plagues Chinese developers, the property market is showing signs of stabilizing thanks to supportive policies and improving market confidence, according to a report in the Economic Information Daily.

Plots of land in key cities sold at high premiums in recent weeks, it said.

Beijing, Zhengzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou have logged up premium prices in land auctions this year, thanks to supportive policies and improving market confidence, the newspaper said yesterday. That contrasts with earlier auctions that closed at low prices with little interest from developers.