DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Evergrande liquidation: Here’s what may happen next
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

But there is still little clarity over how the liquidation of Evergrande will unfold. That’s because the legal systems of Hong Kong and China remain distinct, despite Beijing’s growing control over the former British colony in recent years. No Chinese company as huge as Evergrande — which was once China’s second largest developer— has been wound up by a Hong Kong court. Hui Ka Yan, chairman of property developer China Evergrande. Since then, Evergrande has been building and selling apartments in mainland China, even though it has been unable to repay its debts.

Persons: Alvarez, Marsal, —, ”, John Bringardner, Hong, Hui Ka Yan, Xu Jiayin, Hui, Xiao En, Bobby Yip, Xiao, Evergrande, Florence Lo, homebuyers, Will, Andy Wong, Diana Choyleva, Xiao Yuanqi, ” Bringardner, ” Choyleva, Choyleva, “ Evergrande Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Shimao, Kaisa Holdings, Group, “, Real, Century Business Herald, China Index Academy, Enodo, Communist Party, China’s, Financial Regulatory Administration, Getty, People’s Bank of China, Finance Ministry, Evergrande, Marsal Locations: Hong Kong, United States, China, British, New York, China . Hong Kong, Shenzhen —, Asia, Florence, Beijing, Real, Hainan

The logo of Forbes magazine is seen on a board at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 (SPIEF 2017) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 21 (Reuters) - Forbes' parent company has called off its acquisition by Luminar Technologies (LAZR.O) CEO Austin Russell, as the billionaire could not come up with the financing, an internal Forbes memo seen by Reuters on Tuesday showed. Forbes was valued at $475 million in 2014 when Integrated Whale Media bought a majority stake in the company from the Forbes family and investment group Elevation Partners. Chinese conglomerate HNA Group made an unsuccessful bid to acquire a majority stake in Forbes in 2017, Reuters reported at the time. Forbes, one of the oldest U.S. media outlets, publishes its eponymous flagship magazine, which reaches 5 million readers.

Persons: Sergei Karpukhin, Forbes, Austin Russell, Mike Federle, Dawn Chmielewski, Helen Coster, Akash Sriram, Maju Samuel, Richard Chang Organizations: Forbes, St ., Economic, REUTERS, Luminar Technologies, Reuters, Forbes Media, The, Integrated Whale Media, Partners, HNA Group, Thomson Locations: St, St . Petersburg, Russia, Russell's, U.S, Los Angeles, New York, Bengaluru

☆ Billionaire FBI informant Peter Thiel dished about two Kremlin invites to private Putin meetings
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | Hans-Martin Tillack | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

It was Angermayer who introduced Bisslinger to Thiel at the party, Thiel would later tell the FBI. After some small talk, Bisslinger made a pitch to Thiel: Thiel should travel to Russia to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. If Thiel chose to attend, Bisslinger said, Bisslinger would arrange for him to meet privately with Putin. "Even if Mr. Angermayer did introduce Mr. Thiel and Mr. Bisslinger," the lawyers wrote in another letter, "Mr. Angermayer is not—and cannot be—responsible for whatever Mr. Bisslinger and Mr. Thiel may or may not have discussed." At his 40th birthday, he connected Peter Thiel with a Russian diplomat, Thiel later told the FBI.

Persons: Peter Thiel, Christian Angermayer, Thiel, Daniil Bisslinger, Bisslinger, Vladimir Putin's, Angermayer, Putin, Maksim Konstantinov, —, Frank Figliuzzi, Vladimir Putin, — Charles Johnson —, Johnathan Buma, Johnson, Welt, Dmitry Peskov, John Lamparski, Donald Trump, — Thiel, Der Spiegel, he'd, Elon Musk, Musk, Thiel —, he's, Palantir, He's, Uma Thurman, Robbie Williams, Queen Latifah, Paul Kagame, Dan McCrum, John Kerry, Richard Grenell, Kerry, Sensei Biotherapeutics, Trump, Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Maureen Dowd, Alexander Schütz, Eva Schütz, Schütz, — Heinz, Christian Strache, Markus Braun, Jan Marsalek, Marsalek, Caroline Haskins, Katherine Long, Jack Newsham, Mattathias Schwartz, Hans, Martin Tillack Organizations: Kremlin, Tech, Pentagon, CIA, Facebook, SpaceX, Kremlin's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian Embassy, Thiel, St ., Economic, Getty, FBI, Atlantic, Bisslinger, Germany, Elon, Russia, NSA, US Special Operations Command, National Health Service, Apeiron Investment, Munich Security, intel, Trump, State Department, Angermayer's, PayPal, Nasdaq, Sciences, The New York Times, Deutsche Bank, Welt Locations: Silicon Valley, Schloss Neuwaldegg, Vienna, Silicon, Moscow, Russian, Berlin, Russia, St, St . Petersburg, Petersburg, Ukraine, Europe, Germany, NATO, Crimea, Ukrainian, Sevastopol, Palantir, Washington, Rwanda, Baltic, Belarus, Iran, Angermayer's Malta, Munich, China, China's, Austrian, Austria, Exxpress, Wirecard, schwartz79@protonmail.com

☆ Evergrande founder joins list of Chinese tycoons investigated, arrested
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Following is a list of some other high-profile Chinese executives who have been investigated or arrested under Xi's leadership. BAO FAN, FOUNDER OF CHINA RENAISSANCEThe founder of China Renaissance Holdings (1911.HK) was detained in February and the investment bank said in August he was co-operating with authorities as investigations continued. Wu was arrested in June 2017 amid Beijing’s campaign to curtail big-spending conglomerates as it cracked down on financial risk. YE JIANMING, FOUNDER OF CEFC CHINA ENERGYIn 2017, Ye's CEFC agreed to buy a nearly $9.1 billion stake in Russian oil major Rosneft. A year later, he was investigated for suspected economic crimes and disappeared from public view in March 2018.

Persons: Hui Ka Yan, Xi Jinping, ZHAO WEIGUO, Tsinghua Unigroup, Zhao, Bao, Morgan Stanley, Didi, XIAO JIANHUA, Xiao, CHEN FENG, TAN XIANGDONG, GROUP, Tan, WU XIAOHUI, Wu, JIANMING, Ye's CEFC, magazine's, Kane Wu, Selena Li, Anne Marie Roantree, Miyoung Kim, Lincoln Organizations: HK, Evergrande, TSINGHUA UNIGROUP, Tsinghua University, Tsinghua, OF CHINA, China Renaissance Holdings, Credit Suisse Group, OF, China's Communist Party elite, Reuters, HNA, Hainan Airlines, Deutsche Bank, Hilton Worldwide, Prosecutors, Thomson Locations: China, Chinese, Guangdong, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Hainan, CHINA

☆ Evergrande’s chairman has been detained. The company will struggle to survive
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But that plan now looks to be in peril, after police detained its chairman as well as staff at a financing subsidiary. Previously China’s second biggest real estate company, Evergrande’s default in 2021 ignited a crisis in the property sector that continues to weigh on the wider economy. It said it needed to reassess the terms of the restructuring plan, in part because sales had been weaker than expected. “The debt restructuring can’t really happen if Evergrade can’t issue new debt or equity, and it doesn’t seem like it can,” Magnus said. As for Magnus, he believes Evergrande’s time as an independent company is over.

Persons: Evergrande, Xu Jiayin, Hui Ka Yan, ”, George Magnus, Bobby Yip, ” Magnus, “, Tyran Kam, Fitch, Kam, Yicai, What’s, Magnus, “ They’ll Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Sunday, Oxford University’s China, SOAS University of London, Shenzhen government’s, CNN, Fitch Locations: China, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shenzhen, United States

☆ Chinese asset manager Zhongzhi says it faces a liquidity crisis, Reuters reports citing meeting video
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

China property investment slid nearly 8% in the first half of the year, official data showed Monday, pointing to a deepening decline in investment for a sector that accounts for about a quarter of the world's second-largest economy. Zhongzhi Enterprise Group on Wednesday told investors it is facing a liquidity crisis and will conduct a debt restructuring, according to video footage of a meeting, as the Chinese asset manager grapples with a deepening property market downturn. Beijing-based Zhongzhi has hired one of the Big Four accounting firms to conduct a comprehensive audit of the firm, and is seeking strategic investors, Zhongzhi management told investors in a meeting on Wednesday, the video seen by Reuters showed. The liquidity stress facing Zhongzhi, which has sizable exposure to real estate, highlights the rippling effect of China's property debt woes. Zhongzhi is facing a "liquidity crisis" and has stopped payment to investors in its products, its management team told investors in the meeting, according to the video.

Persons: Zhongzhi Organizations: Zhongzhi Enterprise, Wednesday, grapples, Big, Reuters, International Trust Co, Anbang Insurance, HNA Group Locations: China, Beijing

SL Green announced on Monday that it had sold the building at 245 Park Avenue to a U.S. subsidiary of Japanese real estate developer Mori Trust Co Ltd at a $2 billion valuation, sending its stock up nearly 20%. The transaction is a "significant milestone" for SL Green given that it represents nearly half of the planned asset sales for 2023 and more than covers the company's share of redevelopment costs, said BTIG analysts, who reiterated their "buy" rating. Analysts at Scotiabank, who rate SLG a "sector underperform", hiked their price target for the company's shares, calling the transaction "positive." SL Green's stock jumped 11% on Tuesday to a high of $31.35 per share. SL Green took control of 245 Park Avenue last year after lenders seized the building from HNA Group.

Persons: Angelo Gordon, Chibuike Oguh, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: YORK, Green Realty, SL Green, Mori Trust, Barclays, Green, Scotiabank, Grand, Ares Management, Societe Generale, HNA Group, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Manhattan, New York

SL Green Realty said it sold the building at 245 Park Avenue, which has 1.8 million-square-foot of office space, to a U.S. affiliate of Japanese real estate developer Mori Trust Co Ltd. Its sale represents a slight discount to the $2.21 billion that China's HNA Group paid to acquire the building in 2017 when New York City's commercial real estate market was at its peak. SL Green took control of 245 Park Avenue last year after lenders seized the building from HNA Group. Jesse Keenan, sustainable real estate professor at Tulane University, said the transaction is a speculative investment that suggests the deep downturn in the New York commercial real estate market may have bottomed out. SL Green Realty was the biggest gainer among listed REITs, leading its peers Vornado Realty Trust (VNO.N), Office Properties Income Trust (OPI.O), and Boston Properties Inc (BXP.N).

Persons: Kohn Pedersen Fox, Angelo Gordon, Jesse Keenan, Keenan, Vornado, Chibuike Oguh, Herbert Lash, Lisa Shumaker, Lance Tupper, Michelle Price Organizations: YORK, SL Green Realty Corp, Big, SL Green Realty, Mori Trust, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, Grand, Ares Management, Societe Generale, HNA, Green, HNA Group, Tulane University, New York, Green Realty, Vornado Realty, Income, Boston Properties Inc, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Manhattan, New York

☆ China is waging a war on its financial industry. Some high-profile bankers are ensnared
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Last Friday, authorities opened a similar probe into Liu Liange, former chairman of state-owned Bank of China, the country’s fourth largest lender. And in January, Wang Bin, who headed state-owned China Life Insurance from 2018 to early 2022, was charged by national prosecutors with taking bribes and hiding overseas savings. They include financial giants such as China Investment Corp, the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, China Development Bank, which provides financing for key government projects, and Agricultural Bank of China, another large state-controlled lender. “The current financial crackdown is a new wave of Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign against the financial sector for consolidation of his power,” said Chongyi Feng, an associate professor in China Studies at the University of Technology Sydney. But the deepening crackdown on the vast financial sector could rattle investors.

The lessors took a hit of almost $10 billion when Russia barred airlines from returning planes hit by Western sanctions to their owners in the West. This has turned the spotlight on other risky markets, most prominently China and Taiwan, where some fear future conflict could cause a similar seizure on a much larger scale. When discussing the Russia losses, most executives speaking at the conference, also touched on China risks. Several executives said the loss of aircraft to Russia would simply feed into risk management models and encourage lessors to be careful about spreading their exposure rather than withdrawing from markets altogether. "Lessors aren't going to be able to abandon higher risk areas because that is what they do," he added.

☆ Chinese Firms Flee U.S. Commercial Real-Estate Market After Big Property Bets Sour
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Konrad Putzier | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SL Green Realty Corp. recently took over Manhattan office tower 245 Park Avenue from an affiliate of Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co.Chinese firms for years were among the most aggressive buyers of U.S. luxury hotels, office towers and other commercial real estate. Now they are running for the exits. Chinese companies have sold a net $23.6 billion of U.S. commercial properties since the start of 2019, according to data provider MSCI Real Assets. That marks a dramatic turnaround. Between 2013 and 2018, Chinese firms were net buyers of nearly $52 billion of U.S. commercial properties, according to MSCI.

Search resuls for: "HNA"

11 mentions found